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Nuclear fusion
In physics, nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus. It is accompanied by the release or absorption of energy depending on the masses of the nuclei involved. Iron and nickel nuclei have the largest binding energies per nucleon of all nuclei and therefore are the most stable. The fusion of two nuclei lighter than iron or nickel generally releases energy while the fusion of nuclei heavier than iron or nickel absorbs energy; vice-versa for the reverse process, nuclear fission. Nuclear fusion of light elements releases the energy that causes stars to shine and hydrogen bombs to explode. Nuclear fusion of heavy elements (absorbing energy) occurs in the extremely high-energy conditions of supernova explosions. Nuclear fusion in stars and supernovae is the primary process by which new natural elements are created. It is this reaction that is harnessed in fusion power. It takes considerable energy to force nuclei to fuse, even those of the lightest element, hydrogen.
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Matter & Energy News
October 18, 2026
Oct. 16, 2026 Scientists discovered that atomic steps just one atom high can guide quantum vortices through superconductors, making them move more than 1,000 times more easily in one direction than another. This remarkable control over quantum motion could lead ...
Oct. 13, 2026 Scientists used artificial intelligence to uncover nearly 10,000 chemical reactions involved in transforming carbon dioxide into fuels and chemicals, revealing crucial pathways that traditional models had missed. The discovery dramatically improved ...
Oct. 13, 2026 Oxford physicists have recreated a bizarre quantum effect in which a particle responds to a magnetic field without ever traveling through it. Using a hybrid quantum computer, they demonstrated how introducing a simulated magnetic flux could ...
Oct. 13, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a surprising hidden ability of light that allows it to develop spinning, twisting behavior as it travels through empty space, without special lenses, mirrors, or materials. ...
Oct. 10, 2026 Scientists in Vienna have achieved a major breakthrough in timekeeping by creating the world’s first self-stabilizing nuclear clock, a technology that could eventually surpass even the most precise atomic clocks. Instead of relying on electrons in ...
Oct. 10, 2026 Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory may have found a dramatically more efficient route to fusion energy by reversing the traditional approach: heating plasma first, then increasing its density. Their calculations could help future reactors reach ...
Oct. 9, 2026 Scientists have developed a powerful new way to calculate the Kondo effect, a strange quantum phenomenon that appears when magnetic atoms are embedded in metals. Instead of relying on simplified models, the method uses the real atomic and electronic ...
Oct. 9, 2026 Scientists have demonstrated a remarkable new antenna that resembles a lightsaber, using a laser to create a tunable beam of plasma capable of transmitting radio waves. The technology could ...
Oct. 9, 2026 Scientists have uncovered a hidden world of “in-between” materials that briefly form as chemical ingredients are heated, revealing structures that conventional methods can miss. Among the ...
Oct. 7, 2026 Physicists have found striking evidence for an unusual form of superconducting behavior in uranium ditelluride, where electron pairs organize into rippling patterns called pair density waves. Even more surprisingly, these patterns appear to survive ...
Oct. 5, 2026 Scientists have discovered evidence of altermagnetism in a thin, highly tunable material that could help electronics use electron spin instead of relying only on electrical charge. The unusual magnetic state may enable faster, more energy-efficient ...
Oct. 4, 2026 A new light-activated material can efficiently produce hydrogen from water without requiring an additional expensive metal catalyst. Researchers say its unusual sulfur-based chemistry could point toward cheaper and more practical ways to turn ...
Latest Headlines
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Oct. 18, 2026 Physicists have discovered a strange new state of quantum matter in which ultracold atoms defy familiar organizational rules, forming a highly excited yet surprisingly orderly configuration called a ...
Oct. 18, 2026 Physicists have uncovered a hidden third form of magnetism that challenges more than 100 years of established physics. Called altermagnetism, the discovery could transform future computing and ...
Oct. 16, 2026 Scientists investigating Nazi Germany's secret nuclear program have uncovered evidence that its final experimental reactor was nowhere near as close to working as previously claimed. Analysis of ...
Oct. 13, 2026 NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has revealed an ancient galaxy cluster with an unexpectedly dense concentration of dark matter, challenging ...
Oct. 12, 2026 Researchers discovered a hidden factor that can determine whether chemical reactions succeed or fail, and then used it to boost the proportion of the ...
Oct. 9, 2026 Nearly a century after physicist Hans Bethe predicted them, scientists have created and directly observed unusual quantum states known as “Bethe strings” in an ultracold gas. By cooling cesium ...
Oct. 8, 2026 Einstein Probe revealed nearly 10 minutes of soft X-ray activity following a short gamma-ray burst, exposing a phase of neutron star mergers that previous missions may have missed. The prolonged ...
Oct. 6, 2026 Physicists at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider have captured the clearest evidence yet that quark-gluon plasma, the scorching-hot matter that filled the newborn universe, behaves like a true liquid. By ...
Oct. 6, 2026 Researchers have captured key steps in a chemical reaction that helps nature transfer energy with remarkable efficiency. Ultrafast X-rays revealed how changes involving electrons and protons are ...
Oct. 4, 2026 Tiny magnetic fields created shortly after the Big Bang may help explain the long-running disagreement over how fast the universe is expanding. ...