Nuclear Fusion Song

A musical introduction to the wonderful world of nuclear fusion! Originally recorded for Science is a Drag Allstars. Inspired by my summer spent working at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, with thanks to all the wonderful people I met there who have inspired, supported and mentored me.

To the tune of 'Fever' by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell.
Lyrics, by Emily Howling:

Tell me have you ever wondered
Why it is the sun shines bright
What gives sparkle to the night sky
Or what floods the earth with warmth and light
Nuclear fusion
Hot reaction
The power that gives stars their glow,
Fusion
That’s a fact and
I’ll tell what you need to know

Protons in the sun’s core,
Under pressure and as hot as hell,
Join to create helium,
But can we do this in a lab as well?
Nuclear fusion.
Pressure’s low so
We gotta major on the heat.
Fusion
Here on earth we make temperatures the sun can’t beat.

Gotta make some fusion plasma,
With two types of hydrogen
Tritium is half the story
Combine it with deuterium

Tokamak’s are very handy for keeping plasma well confined
Strong magnetic fields form
Around this classic donut shaped design to give us fusion
Like at Culham
Where engineers built JET and MAST
Fusion
One day ITER
Will give power to the grid at last

Now you’ve learned a little physics,
Here’s the point that I have made,
Fusion’s gonna be the future,
Though it’s always 30 years away,
Nuclear fusion,

It’s got the power,
Unlimited and very clean,
Fusion,
Betta fund it,
A harder task there’s never been,
The engineering is obscene,
But fusion power is the dream.