The experiment yielded 10 percent of the energy of sunlight hitting Earth.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA — Scientists used an unusual method of creating nuclear fusion to produce a burst of energy of more than 10 quadrillion watts. They shoot an intense beam of light from the world’s largest laser at tiny pellets of hydrogen.
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Northern California say they have focused 192 giant lasers at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) onto pea-sized pellets. This experiment could produce a release of 1.3 megajoules of energy in one per 100 trillionth of a second (roughly 10 percent of the energy of sunlight hitting Earth every time), and about 70 percent of the energy absorbed by the pellet from the laser. The energy yield was significantly greater than scientists had expected, and far greater than the previous record of 170 kilojoules they set in February.
The researchers hope the results will expand the ability to research nuclear fusion weapons, the core NIF mission, and lead to new ways to harness the energy from nuclear fusion. Some scientists hope that nuclear fusion could one day become a relatively safe and sustainable method of generating energy on Earth.
“This result is a historic step forward for fusion research opening up a fundamentally new regime for the exploration and advancement of our critical national security mission,” said Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory director Kim Budil. Live Science, Thursday (19/8).
Giant laser
Modern nuclear power plants use nuclear fission, which produces energy by breaking the heavy nuclei of elements, such as uranium and plutonium, into lighter nuclei. However, stars can produce more energy from nuclear fusion. It is a process of crushing lighter nuclei to make heavier elements.
Stars can combine many different elements, including carbon and oxygen, but their main source of energy comes from the fusion of hydrogen into helium. Because stars are so large and have strong gravity, the process of fusion occurs at very high pressures inside the star.
– .
