The strong nuclear force only operates on scales as small as the nucleus itself. That's why it takes high density, high pressure, and high temperature to overcome. Lawrence Livermore National Lab got 50% more energy out of this than the energy of the lasers that went into it.
What is thermonuclear fusion? Neil deGrasse Tyson and comedian Chuck Nice break down the Department of Energy’s breakthrough, thermonuclear fusion at the center of stars, supernovae, and how stars are born.
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Photo Credit:
NASA/ESA/ESO/Wolfram Freudling et al. (STECF)
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