In the face of a major scientific breakthrough, Oxford researchers have been working to achieve nuclear fusion, the energy process that powers the Sun and stars.
The UK-based JET Lab has broken its own world record for the amount of energy it can produce by compressing two forms of hydrogen.
According to the BBC, in their experiments, British scientists produced energy equal to 59 megajoules in five seconds, with a power of 11 megawatts.
This is more than double the amount of energy produced in similar tests in 1997, according to the British publication.
However, its importance is remarkable as it confirms the design choices made for an even larger fusion reactor now being built in France.
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“We can create a mini star inside our machine. The JET lab experiments brought us one step closer to nuclear fusion power”, he said Joe Mills, head of operations in the lab.
“We have proven that we can create a mini star inside our machine and hold it there for five seconds and have high performance, something that really takes us to a new ‘kingdom'”, he points out.
Experiments by Oxford scientists confirm the design of a large reactor in France. In July 2020, according to the BBC, the assembly of the giant reactor of the international ITER program began in the south of France, with the aim of achieving hydrogen fusion and producing almost inexhaustible energy.
“With nuclear fusion, hydrogen can be a promise for the future”, Emanuel Macron had said two years ago during the ceremony at ITER headquarters, at Saint-Paul-lès-Durance.
