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Photo by @paoloverzone | Tim Luce, chief scientist of ITER, the giant experimental fusion reactor now under construction in southern France, stands in the pit that will house the donut-shaped tokamak. In the tokamak, hydrogen nuclei will be heated to hundreds of millions of degrees and fused into helium. ITER—designed to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion power—will be the world's largest reactor. Nuclear fusion is the power source of the sun and the stars. When light atomic nuclei fuse together to form heavier ones, a large amount of energy is released. Fusion research is aimed at developing a safe, abundant, and environmentally responsible energy source. Read the full story at the link in bio and follow @paoloverzone for more images and stories.