Question: Hi Do you think we could reach the "end" of the universe, with nuclear fusion? Thanks Will

Evan Keane answered on 16 Jun 2011:

No, we will not end the Universe when we figure out how to do nuclear fusion on Earth. Don’t worry. 😉

Nuclear fusion is just what happens when you get two atoms and “fuse” them together. Energy is released when you do this. And humans would love to use this energy to power our electricity grids, as it has no bad side effects for the environment and doesn’t rely on fuel (like coal and oil) which will one day run out. Actually nuclear fusion happens all the time, inside stars. This is the energy source that stars use to shine so the light from the Sun you see now (if there’s no clouds!) is powered from the energy released from nuclear fusion of atoms inside the star. So there is nothing to be worried about.

Maybe you are worried because of the other type of nuclear power, which we already use. That is nuclear “fission” where you break up heavy atoms to release energy. This type of energy has a bad reputation as there was once a badly designed nuclear power station which went out of control in a place called Chernobyl. Although you should know (and lots of people ignore it even though it’s true!) many many many more people die in other power industries all the time. For example, more than 5 people will have died in coal mines in China alone (and that is according to “official” statistics) since you started school today. Many many 1000s of people die in coal mines every year. And actually nuclear power is extremely safe in comparison.