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“From my perspective, this is the proof that the physics work for net gain,” said Andrew Holland, CEO of the Fusion Industry Association, an industry advocacy group. Here are several important things to know about the milestone’s significance and next steps: Why is this so important? In theory, nuclear fusion could produce massive amounts of energy without producing lost-lasting radioactive waste, or posing the risk of meltdowns. That’s unlike nuclear fission, which powers today’s reactors. Fission results when radioactive atoms — most commonly uranium — are split by neutrons in controlled chain reactions, creating lighter atoms and large amounts of radiation and energy to produce electric power. Fusion is the opposite process. In the most common approach, swirling hydrogen isotopes are fo...

Even with last month’s further easing of inflation, the Federal Reserve plans to keep raising interest rates. On Wednesday, the Fed is set to boost its benchmark rate for a seventh time this year, a move that will further raise borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. Economists have warned that in continuing to tighten credit to fight inflation, the Fed is likely to cause a recession next year. Tuesday’s government report showed that inflation in November was slowed by less expensive gasoline, electricity and used cars, among other items. Several trends have started to reduce price pressures, though they won’t likely be enough to bring overall inflation back down to levels that Americans were used to anytime soon. The national average for a gallon of regular gas has sunk from $5 a ga...

Even with last month’s further easing of inflation, the Federal Reserve plans to keep raising interest rates. On Wednesday, the Fed is set to boost its benchmark rate for a seventh time this year, a move that will further raise borrowing costs for consumers and businesses. Economists have warned that in continuing to tighten credit to fight inflation, the Fed is likely to cause a recession next year. Tuesday’s government report showed that inflation in November was slowed by less expensive gasoline, electricity and used cars, among other items. Several trends have started to reduce price pressures, though they won’t likely be enough to bring overall inflation back down to levels that Americans were used to anytime soon. The national average for a gallon of regular gas has sunk from $5 a ga...

“Perhaps the greatest challenge of all is whether the U.S. has the foresight and will to move forward,” Meade said. The Financial Times first reported the research breakthrough Sunday. A person familiar with the findings confirmed to POLITICO that DOE will announce that its Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory had used lasers to produce a fusion reaction that generated 1.2 times more energy than was needed to create it. If reports of the experiment’s results prove accurate, “it’s one of the biggest results of science in the past 20-30 years,” said Gianluca Sarri, a professor at Queen’s University Belfast who researches laser and plasma physics. But even then, hope of a fusion-generation power plant is still more than a decade away, he said. Fusion, which uses extreme heat to combine two ...