A step closer to a new form of renewable energy: nuclear fusion

On Tuesday, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm walked up to a microphone to drop some big science news — scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California had achieved a fusion milestone.

For those of us too far removed from science class to remember — nuclear fusion is the process that powers our sun.

So far, fusion as a power source has remained out of reach, the realm of speculative fiction.

But this is not a popcorn flick, it’s the real thing, the first time this step toward fusion energy has been successfully created in a laboratory, ever.

And it has had people talking, even before the announcement, especially other folks in the world of fusion research.

Chris Hansen is a senior research scientist in the Aeronautics & Astronautics Department at the University of Washington.

You can hear Soundside's conversation with Dr. Hansen by clicking the play button above.