Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently published a comprehensive paper confirming the success of its 2022 fusion experiment, where multiple lasers were focused on a deuterium and tritium sphere, achieving fusion ignition in a laboratory setting.
While creating nuclear fusion is relatively straightforward, achieving fusion ignition, where more energy is produced than is put in, is the challenging part.
This had previously only been reached inside hydrogen bombs.
On December 5, 2022, at the Lawrence Livermore facility, 192 laser beams focused on a deuterium/tritium target, resulting in fusion ignition, generating more energy output than input.
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The paper, authored by over 1,370 researchers from 44 international institutions, traces the experiment’s progress since its proposal in 1972.
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It details the challenges faced and how the target gain of 1.5 times was achieved.
Although the primary goal was to simulate fusion reactions found in nuclear weapons to verify the US nuclear stockpile’s reliability, the results could also inform future fusion power plant designs, offering potentially unlimited clean energy.
However, significant advancements are needed to make fusion energy commercially viable, including improving laser energy usage and reducing costs.
