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National Ignition Facility operators inspect a final optics assembly during a routine maintenance period in August.

The Energy Department’s fusion breakthrough: It’s not really about generating electricity

By John Mecklin | Fusion Energy, Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Weapons

One conception of using lasers to power a spacecraft. (Image courtesy Breakthrough Initiatives at: https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/initiative/3)

Reaching for the stars: The case for cooperative governance of directed energy technologies

By Joan Johnson-Freese, Nikola Schmidt | Disruptive Technologies

One conception of using lasers to power a spacecraft. (Image courtesy Breakthrough Initiatives at: https://breakthroughinitiatives.org/initiative/3)

Reaching for the stars: The case for cooperative governance of directed energy technologies

By Joan Johnson-Freese, Nikola Schmidt

A US military artist's vision of laser weapons. Perhaps surprisingly, on Earth, the Pentagon is well on the way to making talking laser-formed plasma balls a reality. Credit: Defense Department via Wikimedia Commons.

The Pentagon’s getting closer to fielding talking lasers

By Matt Field | Disruptive Technologies, What We’re Reading

A “Star Wars” sequel? The allure of directed energy for space weapons

By Jeff Hecht | Nuclear Weapons, Special Topics, Technology and Security