Fusion is the process that powers the sun and the stars. Since the 1950s, scientists and engineers in the United States and around the world have been conducting fusion research in pursuit of the creation of a new energy source for our planet and to further our understanding and control of plasma, the fourth state of matter that dominates the known universe. Generating power through nuclear fusion holds the tantalizing promise of unlimited supplies of clean energy. By the middle of the next century, the world's population will double, and energy demand will triple. In this article, the author states that there are still scientific and technological advances that have to be made before the dream of commercial electricity production will become a reality.