Scientists Successfully Replicate , Fusion Ignition Breakthrough.
Reuters reports that researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have successfully repeated their breakthrough fusion power experiment.
The fusion ignition breakthrough was accomplished at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) on July 30.
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The experiment produced a higher energy yield than the initial breakthrough which occurred in December.
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According to a Lawrence Livermore spokesperson, the final results of the experiment are still being analyzed.
On December 5, the team achieved fusion ignition, generating 3.15 megajoules of energy out of the 2.05 megajoules used to power lasers in the process.
To achieve fusion ignition, scientists focus lasers on a target of fuel, fusing two light atoms into a single denser one and releasing energy.
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The department stressed that the now-repeated process has again produced more energy from fusion than the amount of energy needed to drive the process.
The Energy Department called the accomplishment , "a major scientific breakthrough decades in the making that will pave the way for advancements in national defense and the future of clean power.".
The Energy Department called the accomplishment , "a major scientific breakthrough decades in the making that will pave the way for advancements in national defense and the future of clean power.".
Scientists have long known that nuclear fusion was the powerful process at work in the sun and have looked to replicate it on Earth for decades.
Scientists have long known that nuclear fusion was the powerful process at work in the sun and have looked to replicate it on Earth for decades.
The breakthrough could have implications for the fight to curb climate change if the technology can be scaled up to a commercial level in the coming decades
