Nuclear Fusion in a Nutshell

Summary of "Star in a Bottle," by Raffi Khatchadourian

In about a decade, the International Thermonuclear Reactor, or ITER, will be complete. This machine, the most complex ever built, will be located in Southern France. Inside of ITER, such intense heat and energy will be released that it will have to be restrained by a so-called ‘magnetic bottle.’ By the time the production of ITER comes to a close, a total of 35 countries will have invested eight years of energy and a approximately twenty billion dollars. When ITER creates energy using nuclear fusion, it will, ideally, produce next to no pollution and serve as an accessible means of producing energy for years to come. Despite this tantalizing vision, the largest downfall this international project holds is the cost. Those funding and supporting the production of nuclear fusion energy will need to have thought long and hard about how much money is worth the end product.