Disappointment.

Fusion, once touted as the energy source of the future because of its cleanliness and low demand for raw materials, became immensely difficult to produce. To extract all this energy required the ability to fuse two atomic nuclei, an act that is extremely difficult to achieve since like charges repel one other. To overcome this basic problem, scientists spent millions of dollars on machines and research. Rarely were these machines able to replicate, even for a minute, what the sun accomplishes constantly — fusion reactions. With limited sustainable results and waning interest, the fusion program in the United States appeared destined for hard times. By 1989 funding for fusion research had been cut to slightly more than $500 million, about half of its peak in the 1970s. Decreased funding led to internal fighting within the field as each potential program promised more than it could ever...