Among the next generation of energy technologies, controlled nuclear fusion – often referred to as the "artificial sun" because it replicates the reactions powering the sun – has emerged as a major frontier of global scientific competition, often bringing to mind a ring-shaped tokamak.

But what if an artificial sun didn't have to be ring-shaped or expensive? FLAME, a field-reversed fusion device that looks like an "energy baguette," recently achieved its first successful plasma discharge in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province. It explores a lower-cost path towards fusion energy, using fuel drawn from seawater – nearly limitless. How does this "energy baguette" work? Let's take a look.