What the fusion success means for the future
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On December 5, ultra-powerful lasers were fired on a pellet the size of a peppercorn containing a mix of deuterium and tritium -- which are components of the fuel that powers the sun. The 192 lasers heated the tiny BB-sized object to temperatures hotter than the sun's center, and for a fraction of a second, a tiny star was formed. Then, just as quickly, it winked out of existence. This technological triumph was made possible by decades of efforts of thousands of researchers.