"Today we can use light to create an artificial sun on Earth, if only for a split-second," writes Steven Johnson. Here, Vaughn Draggoo examines a test site for light-induced nuclear fusion at the ...

From penicillin and anesthesia to saccharin and silly putty, chance played a major role in some of the world's great inventions. Some things weren’t meant to be, but in the end, turned about to be ...