Nuclear fusion test hailed as the holy grail in the search for clean energy in the laboratory

Harnessing energy from atoms leads to nuclear energy, either by dividing an atom or a combination of two lighter atoms. The latter is known as nuclear fusion, which is a rare scientific achievement that humans have yet to achieve.

That could soon change, however, when Times Now News reported that a nuclear fusion test at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) had made a historic breakthrough in the search for clean energy.

If the nuclear fusion that powers the sun and other stars in the universe can be replicated on Earth, it will provide affordable, clean, and safe energy to humanity.

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Nuclear fusion test hailed as the holy grail in the search for clean energy in the laboratory

A breakthrough in nuclear fusion

On August 8, the scientists at the LLNL achieved a historic breakthrough in nuclear fusion after a laboratory test that released an enormous burst of energy. They announced on Aug. 18 that they could achieve an energy output of more than 1.3 megajoules (MJ), which is on the cusp of the fusion ignition, which is the goal of NIF. This opens up access to a new experimental regime of nuclear fusion.

According to Euronews, the scientists focused 192 laser beams into a peppercorn-sized capsule, causing an explosion of fusion energy eight times larger than what they had done before. The energy boost lasted only 100 trillionths of a second, but released 70% of the energy that lasers used to trigger the process.

Scientists claim that this brings them closer to the holy grail of ignition, in which nuclear fusion produces more energy than it consumes based on years of studies in nuclear energy. The lab plans to repeat the process in the future, which would likely take several months.

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Nuclear fusion vs. nuclear fission

The researchers found that nuclear fusion is different from the other process of nuclear energy called nuclear fission. According to an article in Duke Energy, both processes use energy from the atoms, but are opposing processes.

Nuclear fission means that energy or heat is released through the splitting of atoms, based on Albert Einstein’s prediction that mass could be converted into energy. Scientists began experiments on nuclear fusion in 1939, and it was only after a year that Enrico Fermi built the first nuclear reactor.

Nuclear fission occurs when an unstable isotope is perturbed by high velocity particles. Neutrons hit the target nucleus and break it down into smaller isotopes, three high-speed neutrons, and a large amount of energy that is used to heat water in nuclear reactors to process electricity.

On the other hand, nuclear fusion occurs when two low-mass isotopes combine under extreme pressure and temperature. It’s the kind of process that powers the sun and other stars. The energy it can produce is enormous and many times the amount produced by nuclear fission.

Scientists continue to research nuclear fusion to create fusion reactors, which provide a virtually unlimited source of energy that produces less radioactive material than fission. The LLNL’s latest laboratory test opens up opportunities for scientists to make this possible.

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For more news and information on nuclear power, see the Science Times.