In 1958, on the eve of the declassification of this previously secret field, Sir John Cockcroft, the director of Harwell Weapons Laboratory in Britain, called a news conference that was attended by 400 reporters. He announced that a secret, experimental machine called ''Zeta'' - Zero Energy Thermonuclear Assembly -had produced constant temperatures in hydrogen gas of 5 million degrees centigrade. Neutron measurements indicated that thermonuclear reactions were taking place, Mr. Cockcroft said. Zeta had apparently produced the world's first controlled fusion reaction - he was 90 percent sure, he said, under hard questioning.
The euphoria was dashed just a few months later. Further experiments showed that the crucial neutron count had been inflated by highly excited runaway particles that were not part of a true thermonuclear reaction. Overall, the hydrogen gas had not reached the ultra-high temperature thought necessary for fusion.
What changes do you expect to see if Zeta had been successful in 1958?