What is fission? Fission is the process behind every nuclear power plant in operation today. It occurs when a tiny subatomic particle called a neutron is slammed into an uranium atom, splitting it.

Given the considerable scientific, engineering, and commercial hurdles facing nuclear fusion, fission seems to offer a more promising nuclear solution to the world’s burgeoning power needs.

The potential of commercial nuclear fusion to provide nearly limitless clean energy is driving a global race, with China investing heavily and aiming for viability by 2050.

AI tech companies are building small nuclear fission plants to power their data centers. However, nuclear fusion is the real prize, and investment is pouring in.

ITER engineers expect their tokamak reactor to generate 500 megawatts (Mw) of fusion power using just 50 Mw of input heating–compared with a nuclear fission reactor ’s roughly 1,000 Mw of ...

Fusion is a nuclear process, but in this context, Srinivasan calls it fusion power. “Nuclear” comes with a lot of baggage (not to knock fission, she says, which has gotten better and cleaner ...

A nuclear fusion power plant prototype is already being built outside Boston. How long until unlimited clean energy is real?

Unlike nuclear fission, which splits heavy nuclei like uranium and is currently used in nuclear power plants, fusion offers several advantages.

Big tech companies are turning to nuclear power as AI ramps up demand for electricity.

Fusion produces energy by fusing light nuclei, such as hydrogen isotopes, and generates minimal radioactive waste — much less than current nuclear fission reactors.

Fission and fusion are both nuclear reactions. But while one involves splitting atoms, the other involves fusing atoms together.