Berkeley Lab's New Fusion Materials Breakthrough, Explained

Scientists at UC Davis and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory just made a major breakthrough in the design of nuclear fusion reactors. The team is at the vanguard of a new field of nuclear fusion research known as materials-driven fusion, which focuses on what the reactors are made up of in order to maximize efficiency and lower the temperature at which fusion can reliably occur. “Instead of designing materials just to survive the harsh conditions of fusion, researchers might be able to design materials that boost the reaction in specific…