Alternative fusion projects warm up [News]

The past few months have proved that hope for nuclear fusion as the ultimate clean and nonpolluting energy source springs eternal. One reactor plan projects a tantalizing gigawatts-per-year net energy out of its still-on-the-drawing-board idea. Another scheme uses the same reaction as the first but seeks smaller-scale reactors. A third uses the familiar "heavy hydrogen" reactions of decades past-deuterium and tritium hydrogen isotopes combining to create helium, neutrons, and energy-but relies on possibly transformative design changes enabled by using the latest superconducting magnets.