News came Wednesday that German researchers---joined by German President Angela Merkel (herself a scientist)---have turned on an experiment at the Max Planck Institute along the path to nuclear fusion energy. Fusion research has been ongoing for decades, and the scientists at Planck make it clear that this experiment won't itself generate energy. They anticipate it will take decades before fusion research reaches that stage---if it ever does. But this development repeats a lesson we should … [Read more...]