Nuclear fusion: Researchers achieve breakthrough
More energy gained than consumed
Researchers achieve breakthrough in nuclear fusion
This illustration shows a NIF target pellet in a cavity capsule with laser beams entering through ports at either end. The beams compress and heat the target to the conditions required for nuclear fusion.
© Source: –/Lawrence Livermore National L
The grand goal is to one day mimic the reaction the sun uses to create energy. This dream could now move a little closer. Researchers in the USA have succeeded in nuclear fusion, in which they were able to generate more energy than was consumed. That reports the “Washington Post”.
This result, based on preliminary data, would be a milestone on the way to developing a new energy source that could one day generate electricity in large quantities in a climate-neutral and safe manner. The results obtained at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (California) were reportedly due to be presented officially on Tuesday.
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Researchers have made breakthroughs before
Almost a year ago, advances in nuclear fusion were announced at the institute. A research team reported in the journal “Nature” at the beginning of the year that the ignition of the plasma was achieved. This ultimately results in the fusion reaction becoming self-sustaining. In the nuclear fusion reactor, the fuel is in the form of plasma – this state of aggregation is created when a gas is extremely heated.
Both nuclear power and nuclear fusion derive energy from the binding forces of atomic nuclei. With nuclear power, however, large atoms are split, radioactive waste is produced, among other things, and there is a risk of serious accidents. Nuclear fusion, on the other hand, fuses small atomic nuclei into larger ones, and the technology is considered clean and safe. This generation of energy is similar to what happens in stars like the sun.
They used the world’s most powerful laser system
However, temperatures of several million degrees must be reached for nuclear fusion. This made the technical use of nuclear fusion very difficult – and that is why there has never been a reactor that could produce more energy than was put into it to heat the plasma.
For their experiments, the researchers in California used the world’s most powerful laser system to convert tiny amounts of heavy and super-heavy hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) into plasma at a temperature of one million degrees. Many laser beams heat up the inside of a container a few millimeters in size.
RND/dpa/miwu
