The fusion experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California could one day lead to the use of laser fusion as a source of carbon-free energy source.
The fusion experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California could one day lead to the use of laser fusion as a source of carbon-free energy source.
Scientists at a federal nuclear weapons facility have made a potentially significant advance in fusion research that could lead to a source of bountiful energy in the future, according to a government official.
The advance is expected to be announced Tuesday by the Department of Energy, which said a “major scientific breakthrough” was made at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Jennifer Granholm, the energy secretary, and White House and other Energy Department officials are expected to be in attendance. The Financial Times reported Sunday that the scientific advance involves the National Ignition Facility, or NIF, which uses giant lasers to create conditions that briefly mimic the explosions of nuclear weapons.
The government official, who spoke anonymously to discuss results that are not yet public, said that the fusion experiment at NIF achieved what is known as ignition, where the fusion energy generated equals the laser energy that started the reaction. Ignition is also called energy gain of one.
A scientist familiar with the results who spoke anonymously for the same reason also confirmed that NIF has achieved ignition.
Such a development would improve the ability of the United States to maintain its nuclear weapons without nuclear testing and could set the stage for future progress that could one day lead to the use of laser fusion as a source of carbon-free energy source.
Although not yet publicly announced, the news has quickly bounced among physicists and other scientists who study fusion.
“Yesterday a scientist friend sent me a note stating that Livermore had exceeded energy gain of one just last week and would be announcing the result on Tuesday,” Stephen Bodner, a retired plasma physicist who has long been a critic of NIF, said in an email Monday morning.
