The good kind of nuclear future

[Bloomberg] [Fully Charged]( From [Bloomberg](   [FOLLOW US [Facebook Share]]([Twitter Share]( [SUBSCRIBE [Subscribe]](  Hi everyone! It's [Jing](mailto:hcao38@bloomberg.net). Based on the coverage of the escalating tensions between the U.S. and North Korea, it seems that the world is the closest it's gotten to nuclear war since the 1980s. People are making [evacuation]( plans, sharing advice on what to do in the [event]( of a nuclear blast. It's kind of horrifying and incredible that the weapons we're still most terrified of came from the last time the entire world was at war (and, according to some, ended that war). All the recent focus on nuclear technology's destructive capabilities is perhaps overshadowing the good that it could one day do—and the future possibility it holds. In June, I made a trip to a small town in eastern Tennessee. Oak Ridge was [instrumental]( to the development of the nuclear bomb during World War II. Today, there's a [national security facility]( involved in storing nuclear material and surveying weapon stockpiles. There's also a civilian national laboratory that's produced breakthroughs in cancer treatments and even helped discover new [elements](. At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, I saw an old site where materials were created for atomic bombs, labs where scientists work with robot arms on radioactive materials and a nuclear research reactor experimenting with gamma radiation so dangerous that the rays could kill you in less than a second. On the tour, I met with one group of scientists convinced they're on the cusp of a major milestone in a technology that many have assumed is a pipe dream. Nuclear fusion, as you'll learn in [this week's Decrypted podcast episode](, is the Holy Grail in energy. It's essentially the process by which the sun (and other stars) generate heat by, very simply, putting so much pressure on Hydrogen atoms that they fuse together. Scientists around the world have been working for eight decades to do the same on earth. Nuclear fusion, they say, can completely eliminate our reliance on fossil fuels that pollute our air and spark wars. Fusion could even provide the means for us to travel to far-flung planets and solar systems. So far, scientists have been able to show that we mere mortals can get a sun-like reaction to occur. But we haven't been able to actually produce enough energy for electricity yet. After all this time and money, faced with myriad disappointments and mounting challenges from cheaper power sources, why have we not given up yet? And just how far away are we really? That's the focus of this episode, which follows the trials and tribulations of the scientists chasing the promise of near limitless clean and safe energy. A nuclear-centric future doesn't have to be an apocalyptic one filled with death and destruction. A girl can dream, but potentially within my lifetime, a fusion scientist could make it happen.  And here's what you need to know in global technology news  In more clean-energy-related news, this renewable energy company has [big plans]( for solar-powered telecommunications towers in Africa.  What Amazon is going after next: Nashville. Music streaming has become the biggest revenue driver, and Amazon wants to compete with Spotify and Apple to get more listeners on its service. Country music fans, for whatever reason, have been late adopters and have [become the next group]( Amazon wants to capture.  President Trump vs. Silicon Valley: [The rift widens]( even as tech giants like Google spend increasing amounts on lobbying efforts.  Ellen Pao speaks up. [The excerpt]( from her upcoming book starts with a scene involving a misogynistic discussion about porn and sex workers—and that's not even the worst of it.     You received this message because you are subscribed to the Bloomberg Technology newsletter Fully Charged. You can tell your friends to [sign up here](.  [Unsubscribe]( | [Bloomberg.com]( | [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington, New York, NY, 10022