California Team , Achieves Ignition , in Nuclear Fusion.
'Newsweek' reports that scientists achieved a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion with the first recorded case of ignition on August 8, 2021.
The results of researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF) have now been published in three peer-reviewed papers.
The results of researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF) have now been published in three peer-reviewed papers.
The results of researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) National Ignition Facility (NIF) have now been published in three peer-reviewed papers.
Nuclear fusion powers our Sun and other stars.
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In the process, hydrogen atoms smash into each other and fuse to form a helium atom, which releases huge amounts of energy.
According to 'Newsweek,' successful ignition means that the reaction produced enough energy to become self-sustaining, a critical step for generating electricity.
If successfully harnessed, nuclear fusion could be one of the most efficient and least polluting sources of energy possible.
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The process requires no fossil fuels as the only fuel comes from hydrogen.
The breakthrough at LLNL saw researchers record an energy yield of over 1.3 megajoules (MJ) in a matter of nanoseconds.
The record shot was a major scientific advance in fusion research, which establishes that fusion ignition in the lab is possible at NIF, Omar Hurricane, Chief scientist for LLNL's inertial confinement fusion program, via 'Newsweek'.
Achieving the conditions needed for ignition has been a long-standing goal for all inertial confinement fusion research and opens access to a new experimental regime where alpha-particle self-heating outstrips all the cooling mechanisms in the fusion plasma, Omar Hurricane, Chief scientist for LLNL's inertial confinement fusion program, via 'Newsweek'
