Opinion: How close are we to using nuclear fusion as an energy source?

Editor’s Note: Don Lincoln is a senior scientist at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. He is the author of several science books for general audiences, including the best-selling audio book “The Theory of Everything: The Quest to Explain All Reality.” He also produces a series of science education videos. Follow him on Facebook. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely his. View more opinion on CNN.

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On December 5, ultra-powerful lasers were fired on a pellet the size of a peppercorn containing a mix of deuterium and tritium – which are components of the fuel that powers the sun. The 192 lasers heated the tiny BB-sized object to temperatures hotter than the sun’s center, and for a fraction of a second, a tiny star was formed. Then, just as quickly, it winked out of existence. This technological triumph was made possible by decades of efforts of thousands of researchers.

The feat was achieved at the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Mind you, this wasn’t the first time that researchers have observed fusion in a laboratory, but it was the first time using this technique that the process surpassed “break even,” which means that the fusing elements released more energy than the lasers supplied.

This is a monumental step for science and a spectacular technical achievement. Since scientists first observed nuclear fusion back in the 1930s, it has been known that it could provide essentially limitless energy. And, especially relevant in this day and age of concerns about global warming and climate change, it is a carbon-free technology.

When fusion becomes commercially viable, humanity’s energy needs will be supplied for the foreseeable future. And, as an icing on the cake, a fusion power plant cannot have an accidental radiation release in the way that happened at Chernobyl or Fukushima. Energy and safety are a great combination.

Now, this recent achievement doesn’t mean that fusion powerplants are just around the corner. While the energy released in the process was 50% greater than the energy supplied by the lasers, this is just part of the energy budget. When all of the equipment powering the experiment is taken into account, the energy released in the fusion process was only…