Fusion optimism
Fusion is famously the technology that's always 20 years in the future. And because of that I hadn't really seriously considered it as a realistic solution to climate change, sustainable energy, etc. But recently I've become more optimistic about the prospects of fusion so I thought maybe I'd explain why I've changed my views. What is fusion? Well, it's a process that releases energy by combining elements together. Atoms tend to resist this, so they have to be smashed together very hard in order for it to work. In a thermonuclear bomb the fusion is triggered by a standard fission bomb going off to provide the needed energy. Atomic weapons are rather hard to contain, though, and impractical to use as part of a power plant. So for fusion we'd need to heat up some hydrogen very hot and keep it all together rather than expanding and escaping as very, very hot things like to do. In the Sun our star's gravity is enough to keep everything together....