179 - A Nuclear Fusion Future?

On today’s episode: There’s a new ant species that is all queens. We answer listener questions about hair! All that and more today on All Around Science...RESOURCESArtemis III not going to the moonEvery ant is a queen in this parasitic species — and they reproduce by cloning them ...  Show more

On today’s episode: Worried about heart attacks? Try oatmeal! And we reach into the mailbag again and answer your questions about boomerangs and airpods. All that and more today on All Around Science...RESOURCESTwo days of oatmeal reduce cholesterol level — University of Bonn htt ...  Show more

It’s nearly a century since it was discovered that the sun and other stars are powered by nuclear fusion. It’s when hydrogen atoms merge to form helium, and release huge amounts of energy. Since then, scientists have dreamed of reproducing the process here on Earth, with one Nobe ...  Show more

On Dec. 5 at 1 o'clock in the morning local time, researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California used lasers to zap a tiny pellet of hydrogen fuel. The lasers hit their target with 2.05 megajoules of energy, and the pellet released roughly 3.15 megajoules ...  Show more

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">After decades of attempts, scientists have finally created a nuclear fusion reaction in a lab. On today’s show, what this breakthrough means for the future of energy.</span>

<span style="backgro ...

What do you get if you smash two hydrogen nuclei together? Helium and lots of energy – it's nuclear fusion!Nuclear fusion is the power source of the sun and the stars. Physicists and engineers here on earth are trying to build reactors than can harness fusion power to provide lim ...  Show more