![]() ![]() ![]() While the energy released from this fusion was greater than the laser energy that hit the peppercorn sized target, the overall energy balance is a net loss and is not ready to be scaled up. The burst output of 192 laser beams focused on a tiny diamond sphere the size of a peppercorn to generate a shock wave that pushed hydrogen atoms close enough together to fuse. 2.05 megajoules (MJ) of laser energy was directed to the target, which released 3.15 MJ of fusion energy. On December 5, a team at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) ran a fusion experiment that produced more energy from a fusion reaction than the laser energy used to drive it. Reaching this breakthrough gives us an indication we are making progress with the science but putting this accomplishment into context we still have a long way to go before we can engineer a fusion power plant. The world has been impatiently waiting for scientists to find a way to unlock this power. Science has long known that nuclear fusion from plentiful hydrogen has the potential to provide a nearly unlimited source of clean power. Will this accomplishment pave the way to finally unlock this abundant energy resource and enable the future of clean power?Īt ARC we are following the energy transition and the associated digital transformation, so we are always interested to follow the many sources of clean power generation that are competing for our energy future. ![]() There have been recent news announcements that describe achieving a major fusion power breakthrough at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Nuclear fusion is the holy grail solution to our planet’s clean energy needs, but making it work smoothly and continuously is an immense challenge. ![]()
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