For the second time, the United States has achieved a net energy gain in a fusion reaction. Researchers at the federal Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, who first achieved “ignition” (receiving more energy than was expended) last year, repeated their breakthrough in an experiment on July 30th. He gave a higher energy output than last year.
“After demonstrating fusion ignition for the first time at the National Ignition Facility in December 2022, we continue to experiment with this exciting new mode. In the course of the experiment carried out on July 30, we repeated the “ignition. In accordance with our standard practice, we plan to report these results at upcoming scientific conferences and in peer-reviewed publications.”
Like last time, the scientists used a process called inertial confinement. The world’s largest laser was aimed at a tiny fuel capsule. Fusion is achieved by laser-heating two isotopes of hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) to such extreme temperatures that the atomic nuclei fuse, releasing helium, neutrons, and vast amounts of energy.
In last year’s experiment, an energy yield of about 3.15 MJ was obtained at a laser power of 2.05 MJ. It is preliminary known that the July attempt made it possible to obtain 3.5 MJ.
It is important to understand that the increase is only achieved in relation to the energy generated by the lasers, and not the total amount of energy diverted from the grid to power the system, which is much higher. Scientists estimate that commercial fusion will require reactions that generate 30 to 100 times more energy than lasers.
A NIF plant fires no more than one laser shot per day, while a commercial internal containment power plant would need to fire several shots per second. However, the relatively short time between the first and the second, more successful experiment is encouraging.
It may take decades for the technology to be commercially exploited, but some companies have other plans:
Source: Financial Times
2023-08-06 19:18:55
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