It was an experiment that generated enough energy to power 60 kettles. But scientists have hailed it as a “big moment” in the development of nuclear fusion technology, and a significant step closer to providing an almost limitless source of clean energy. Key points: Researchers around the world have long been working on nuclear fusion technology The latest experiment generated 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy in five seconds Scientists say it’s a “very exciting” development and a step towards generating electricity Researchers at the Joint European Torus (JET) experiment in the United Kingdom managed to produce a record amount of heat energy over a five-second period, the UK Atomic Energy Authority said. The 59 megajoules of sustained fusion energy produced were more than double the previous record of 21.7mj achieved there in 1997. The agency said the result was “the clearest demonstration worldwide of the potential for fusion energy to deliver safe and sustainable low-carbon energy”. “If we can maintain fusion for five seconds, we can do it for five minutes and then five hours as we scale up our operations in future machines,” said Tony Donne, program manager for EUROfusion. “This is a big moment for every one…