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Historic Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Announced. Here’s What It Means


Announced historic breakthrough in nuclear fusion.  This is what it means

Scientists have been working for decades to develop nuclear fusion. (Represent)

Washington:

U.S. researchers announced a historic breakthrough in nuclear fusion on Tuesday, hailing a “landmark achievement” in the search for an unlimited, clean source of energy. and end dependence on fossil fuels.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California says an experiment it conducted this month “generates more energy from fusion than the laser power used to drive it.”

The US Department of Energy describes the achievement of fusion ignition as a “major scientific breakthrough” that will lead to “advances in defense and the future of clean energy.”

LLNL director Kim Budil describes it as “one of the most important scientific challenges humanity has ever tackled.”

Scientists have been working for decades to develop nuclear fusion – touted by advocates as a clean, abundant and safe source of energy that could eventually allow humanity to disrupt dependence on fossil fuels causes the global climate crisis.

The LLNL said a team at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) conducted the first controlled fusion experiment in history on December 5, achieving what it calls “scientific energy breakeven”. “.

“This is a landmark achievement for the researchers and staff at the National Ignition Facility, who have dedicated their careers to seeing fusion ignition come to fruition. , and this milestone is sure to spark more discoveries,” said US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

– Needs further development –

Nuclear power plants around the world currently use fission – the splitting of the nucleus of a heavy atom – to generate energy.

Fusion, on the other hand, combines two light hydrogen atoms to form a heavier helium atom, releasing large amounts of energy in the process.

It’s a process that happens inside stars, including our sun.

On Earth, fusion reactions can be triggered by heating hydrogen to extremely high temperatures inside specialized devices.

Researchers at LLNL used the massive National Ignition Facility — 192 powerful lasers all directed at a small tube-sized cylinder filled with hydrogen.

Like fission, fusion has no carbon in the process, but has more advantages: it poses no risk of nuclear disaster and produces much less radioactive waste.

However, there is still a long way to go before fusion is feasible on an industrial scale.

“Many advanced scientific and technological developments are still needed to achieve a simple, affordable IFE to power homes and businesses,” LLNL said.

Other nuclear fusion projects are also being developed around the world, including a large international project called ITER, which is currently under construction in France.

Instead of a laser, ITER will use a technique known as magnetic confinement, which contains a mass of molten hydrogen plasma swirling in a giant donut-shaped chamber.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from an aggregated feed.)

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