First ignition is awesome, but economics and engineering to deliver clean energy promise are nowhere
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have achieved fusion ignition in a nuclear reactor, it was announced on Tuesday.
The dream of generating relatively clean, fusion-based power has been pursued for decades. Now, the US Department of Energy and the LLNL believe they are a significant step closer to achieving that goal, confirming earlier reports.
On Tuesday this week, officials presented during a livestreamed broadcast the results of an experiment conducted at the lab’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) on December 5.
The boffins said they had produced 3.15 megajoules of fusion energy as output, exceeding the 2.05 megajoules delivered by the 192 lasers that kickstarted the nuclear fusion reaction. In other words, LLNL achieved fusion ignition within a reactor, and (in a way) got more energy out of the reaction than it put in (though more on that later). That’s a milestone for the team, and a first-of-its-kind feat, according to the Americans.
You can replay the announcement below.
Youtube Video
« The pursuit of fusion ignition in the laboratory is one of the most significant scientific challenges ever tackled by humanity, and achieving it is a triumph of science, engineering, and most of all, people, » Kim Budil, director of LLNL, said in a statement.
« Crossing this threshold is the vision that has driven 60 years of dedicated pursuit—a continual process of learning, building, expanding knowledge and capability, and then finding ways to overcome the new challenges that emerged.
