Breakthrough in fusion energy: for the first time we received more energy than we spent

The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration today announced

discovery of thermonuclear ignition inLawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The experiment, in which for the first time in thermonuclear energy, more energy was obtained than expended, was carried out on December 5.

In an experiment conducted at LLNL, scientistsspent 2.05 MJ of energy to start the fusion reactions and get 3.15 MJ of energy output as a result of fusion. This is the first demonstration of fusion ignition, the point at which the reaction becomes self-sustaining as the energy generated becomes sufficient to keep the system running.

Fusion is a process in whichtwo light atomic nuclei combine to form one heavier one, releasing large amounts of energy. In the 1960s, a group of pioneering scientists at LLNL hypothesized that lasers could be used to induce nuclear fusion in the laboratory. Scientists have been developing this idea—inertial confinement fusion—in the laboratory for nearly 60 years.

The National Ignition Center's laser energy is converted into X-rays inside the hohlraum, which then compresses the fuel capsule until it explodes. Image: LLNL

To realize this concept, in the laboratorybuilt more and more powerful laser systems. The modern experimental facility is about the size of a sports stadium. Inside the facility, powerful laser beams create temperatures and pressures similar to those that occur in the cores of stars and giant planets, as well as inside exploding nuclear weapons, scientists say.

To create thermonuclear ignition, the energyThe laser is converted into X-rays inside the hohlraum, a cavity whose walls are in radiative equilibrium with the radiated energy inside the cavity. The fuel capsule then contracts until it explodes, creating a high temperature, high pressure plasma.

Researchers believe that the world's first achievement of thermonuclear ignition opens a new era in the development of energy.

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