A breakthrough in nuclear fusion science could ignite big advancements in national defense and the future of clean energy, but not for decades, according to scientists.
Physicists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory were able to use the world’s largest and most energetic laser system to create pure, clean energy. Physicists study confinement nuclear fusion by harnessing the power of laser energy. And for the first time, they achieved fusion ignition: meaning they produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive the experiment.
“We get to create, for a billionth of a second, a little tiny piece of a star – and I get to see what happens,” said Experimental Physicist Louisa Pickworth.
Ever since nuclear fusion was discovered in 1951, scientists have made it their goal to get more energy to come out of their experiments than it takes to create them. On Dec. 5, 2022 – scientists hit those energy gain goals.
One scientist described it like this: “During experiments, 192 high-energy lasers converged on a target about the size of a peppercorn. The capsule of deuterium-tritium was heated to over 3 million degrees Celsius, briefly simulating conditions of a star.”
Scientists put in about two megajoules of laser energy and three megajoules came out. The capsule was ignited long enough and hot enough to produce about 1.5 megajoules of laser energy. After a week of analyzing and confirming the data, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm unveiled their findings at a press conference.
Nuclear fusion is the same process used by the sun to create energy and it’s also used to detonate thermonuclear bombs. After this discovery, scientists hope to one day create clean energy and bolster the nuclear defense. While this is groundbreaking, they say it will take years of research before they can perfect and commercialize nuclear fusion.
“This is one igniting capsule, one time,” said the laboratories director, Kim Budil. “And to realize commercial fusion energy – you have to produce many, many fusion ignition events per minute.”
She said with research on laser technology and significant investment, the U.S. could potentially build a power plant in a few decades.
Fusion energy promises carbon-free energy and could one day replace nuclear power plants.
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