We Tried To Do Nuclear Fusion

We attempted nuclear fusion. In Simone’s workshop.
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Disclaimer: This build was supervised by experts at Helion. Do not try this at home.

I still can’t believe this video really happened. Back in May, I interviewed Helion CEO David Kirtley. I was trying to understand nuclear fusion: Is nuclear fusion possible now? How does fusion actually work? And most importantly, is nuclear fusion the future? Then, at the end of the interview, I asked David about headlines I’d seen about people building nuclear fusion devices in their backyards - what were they doing? “Oh,” David replied, “you can build one.”

What followed is the biggest adventure yet on Huge If True. Together with the team at Helion and my friend fellow YouTuber Simone Giertz, we BUILT A NUCLEAR FUSION DEVICE to show how nuclear fusion works, what the big remaining challenges are, and how it might help us all in the future.

Then, the last step was to try to turn it on…

WATCH "FUSION, EXPLAINED: PART 1" HERE:    • Nuclear Fusion, explained for beginners  

HUGE (no asterisk) thank you to David, Jessie, Ron, Joben, and the entire team at Helion for helping make our nuclear fusion dreams possible. It's truly a life moment I'll never forget and I'm so grateful.

Watch Simone’s channel here:    / @simonegiertz  

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Chapters:
00:00 We’re trying to do nuclear fusion
01:48 What is nuclear fusion?
02:48 How do you build a fusion device?
03:37 How is nuclear fusion possible?
04:36 What is the big challenge with fusion?
05:36 What does nuclear fusion look like?
06:12 We’re great at this
07:08 UH OH
08:02 Here comes the fusion fuel!
08:32 The “Do Not Die” section
09:07 DID WE DO IT??
12:38 Is fusion possible at scale?
13:32 THANK YOU HELION

Sources and further reading:
Nuclear fusion, simply explained:    • Nuclear Fusion, explained for beginners  
“How Helion’s approach to fusion works”    • Helion's approach to fusion: How it w...  
"Fusion energy breakthrough by US scientists boosts clean power hopes" (most recent news) https://www.ft.com/content/4b6f0fab-6...
The Star Builders: Nuclear Fusion and the Race to Power the Planet, by Arthur Turrell: https://www.amazon.com/Star-Builders-...
The Future of Fusion Energy, by Jason Parisi and Justin Ball: https://www.amazon.com/Future-Fusion-...
Atomic Awakening: A New Look At The History And Future Of Nuclear Power, by James Mahaffey: https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Awakeni...
Principles Of Fusion Energy: An Introduction To Fusion Energy For Students Of Science And Engineering (Illustrated Edition): https://www.amazon.com/Principles-Fus...
“Major breakthrough on nuclear fusion energy,” BBC:    • Major breakthrough on nuclear fusion ...  
“Fusion Power Explained: Future or Failure,” Kurzgesagt:    • Fusion Power Explained – Future or Fa...  
“We Went Inside the Largest Nuclear Fusion Reactor, The B1M:    • We Went Inside the Largest Nuclear Fu...  

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Bio:
Cleo Abram is an Emmy-nominated video producer and journalist. Cleo produces detailed explainer stories about technology and economics. She wrote the Coding and Diamonds episodes of Vox’s Netflix show, Explained, was the host and a senior producer of Vox’s first ever daily show, Answered, as well as a host and producer of Vox’s YouTube Originals show, Glad You Asked. She now makes her own independent show, Huge If True. Each episode takes on one big technology innovation or idea, explains what it is, and helps people imagine the ways it could improve the world we live in by answering one simple question: If this works, what could go right?

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Gear I use:
Camera: Sony A7SIII
Lens: Sony 16–35 mm F2.8 GM
Audio: Sennheiser SK AVX and Zoom H4N Pro

Music: Musicbed

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Welcome to the joke down low:

What is a lightbulb’s favorite kind of news?
Current events.

Find a way to use the word “current” in a comment to let me know you’re a real one ;)