If the sky is clear tonight, take a look up at the stars.

It has taken the light from these objects millions of years to reach your retina. That’s why astronomers tell us that when you look at the stars you are actually seeing the past. It’s part of their attraction.

However, I believe that as well as seeing the past, you are also seeing the future at exactly the same time… Let me explain why.

The reason I have not mentioned nuclear fusion much is that this letter is primarily aimed at investors seeking to make money. And, if you think thorium reactors are a long way off, fusion reactors are even further away. However, I do find the prospect very exciting; the science compelling and the potential simply astonishing.

If Charles de Gaulle is sat somewhere watching what is going on in the world, I bet he is incredibly smug. It is he that kick started France’s nuclear programme in 1959 and the country now gets around 80% of its energy from nuclear fission. De Gaulle was a bright man and his legacy has left France at the vanguard of the nuclear revolution.

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (Iter) is being built at Cadarache near Marseilles, which has been a nuclear research centre ever since de Gaulle launched France's atomic energy programme. It is the most expensive joint scientific project ever, apart from the international space station.

The hope is that fusion will lead to a cheaper, safer, cleaner and endless energy resource in the years ahead. It is worth of note that the countries involved represent more than half of the population of the entire globe.

The plan is to have a working reactor some time around 2040, by which time I will be 70 years old, so realistically this technology is unlikely to be de rigour in my lifetime. However, it holds untold promise for the future.

It has been said that, if fusion reactors are viable, just one kilogram of fusion fuel would produce the same amount of energy as 10,000,000 kg of fossil fuel. And there would be no emissions. Of course, fusion produces radioactive waste, but in comparison to fission, the volumes would be relatively low.

And now for the science bit

So, let’s dust off our physics knowledge have a quick look at what fusion is and why it is so potentially powerful…

Fusion is the opposite of fission. Fission splits atoms; fusion combines atoms.

Light nuclei are fused – usually hydrogen isotopes deuterium (heavy water) and tritium (heavy hydrogen). It is the same reaction that takes place in the sun and all other stars. And, as you are well aware, this type of reaction produces a lot of energy. Fusion gives stars their brightness and our sun its life-sustaining heat.

It is also the same sort of power that is given off by a hydrogen bomb, but obviously, the hydrogen bomb is uncontrolled fusion. We need a controlled fusion reaction to generate power – and that is what Iter is trying to do.

As atoms fuse together energy is released. The amount of energy was defined by Albert Einstein in his equation E=mc2. The “fused” atom that results from the process has less mass than the sum of the original atoms. This difference in mass is “m” and the energy produced “E” is a factor of this mass differential and the speed of light “c”.

The idea is that a large, repetitive fusion reaction can generate a great deal of heat in this way. The heat is then used to make steam and drive turbines in the traditional way.

One problem is that gases have to be heated to temperature in excess of 100 million Celsius. Patently, this is technically difficult.

The technical requirements to do this, which scientists have spent decades developing, are immense; but the rewards, if Iter can be made to work successfully, are extremely attractive. This is valuable and important research – and it is a project that could only be achieved with the co-operation of more than half the globe. Indeed, this latter fact makes the project very special indeed.

The usual detractors

"Giving billions of euros to a single nuclear project that is so far from reality is ill judged and irresponsible," according to Friends of the Earth. But they probably would have said that about the International Space Station too, despite the fact that it is probably essential for the long-term future of the human race.

Greenpeace, of course, don’t like it either. “Greenpeace deplores the agreement by the Representatives of the Parties to the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor to construct one of the world's largest nuclear fusion experiments in Cadarache, Southern France. The project, estimated to cost 10 billion euro, will not generate any electricity, instead it will need massive amounts of energy to heat up. With 10 billion euro, we could build 10,000MW offshore windfarms, delivering electricity for 7.5 million European households.”

Of course 10 billion euro could buy a lot of other things. With baby incubators costing around 5,000 euro (£3,500), this amount of money could buy two million such devices to spread around the world and save almost every premature baby’s life all over the globe. How warm and fluffy is that…

The baby incubator comment, however, is just a statistic. It is not a reason for not doing something - particularly something as vitally important as this is. This 35-year experiment just has to be done, no matter how many baby incubators are sacrificed in the process. P.S. If you enjoyed this article then sign up for Smart Commodities UK. It’s dedicated to searching out the investment trends that could provide our biggest profit opportunities for the next decade…

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