The protons and neutrons in an atom's nucleus are bound together by the strong nuclear force. By fusing together the nuclei of two light atoms, or by splitting a heavy atom in a process called fission, we can release some of this binding energy. After more than half a century of research, fusion remains technologically elusive. Here we focus on fission, exploited in hundreds of reactors around the world; in 2011, it provided about 13.5 per cent of the world's electrical energy.
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