In a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion energy, US scientists have successfully conducted a nuclear fusion reaction resulting in a net energy gain.
This milestone has been achieved by the researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), California, the National Laboratory of the US Department of Energy. US Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm made the announcement on Tuesday, December 13.
As many as 192 high energy lasers were used to achieve the nuclear fusion reaction. The researchers at LLNL heated a capsule of deuterium and tritium, and briefly simulated the reactions taking place in a star, Arati Prabhakar, Science Advisor to the President, said during a press conference Tuesday. She added that this feat pushes towards a “clean energy future”.
A nuclear fusion reaction is a process in which two light nuclei merge to form a single heavier nucleus, and releases energy because the total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the added masses of the two original nuclei. Nuclear fusion reactions, which power the Sun and the stars, could one day serve as a cheap source of electricity. In nuclear fusion, light elements such as hydrogen are fused together to form heavier elements.
Nuclear fusion releases energy, and scientists at LLNL have achieved a net energy gain for the first time.
Scientists have been trying to achieve nuclear fusion since at least the 1930s. The nuclei of two atoms need to be subjected to extreme heat of over 100 million degrees Celsius in order to achieve nuclear fusion. This will cause the two nuclei to fuse into a new larger atom. The process will release large amounts of energy.
On December 5, 2022, a team at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) reached this milestone by conducting the first controlled fusion experiment in history, DOE said in a statement. The milestone is called scientific energy breakeven, meaning that it produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it.
The first-of-its-kind achievement will not only provide new insights into the field of clean fusion energy, but will also help achieve US President Joe Biden’s goal of a net-zero carbon economy.
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