NASA has enlisted the help of a great mind to teach people the difference between nuclear fusion and fission: GLaDOS, the renegade AI who serves as an antagonist in Valve's Portal franchise.
The video above, produced by the education and public outreach department of the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., features Ellen McLain, the original voice of GLaDOS. She explains nuclear fusion (what happens in a hydrogen bomb and inside the sun) and fission (what happens in an atomic bomb) in layperson's terms, with two computer technicians standing in for the audience.
With all the talk of fearsome nuclear weapons in the lesson, it's a good thing that the technicians prevent GLaDOS from taking over the world — even if they do it unintentionally. She does get one over on NASA in the end, though.
