UK startup's nuclear fusion gun will fire a 1-billion-G projectile at a fusion fuel pelletU.K.-based startup First Light Fusion is developing its prototype Big Friendly Gun (BFG) in a bid to achieve nuclear fusion without relying on lasers and powerful magnets.However, news of new breakthroughs is always tempered by the fact that commercially viable nuclear fusion is some way off still as there are still some major hurdles to overcome.The piston then smashes through a metal seal, shooting a projectile at 4.3 miles (6.9 km) per second into a vacuum chamber, where it hits a falling nuclear fusion fuel pellet."Net energy gain has been demonstrated with inertial fusion, but the driver, instead of being a laser, was an underground weapons test," CEO Nick Hawker told Newsweek in an interview.The company is currently developing its next machine, called M3, which will use an electrical current to more than double the projectile's speed to 12 miles (20 km) per second, reaching a force of 1 billion Gs."