Aug 18, 2021 15:00:00

Succeeded in generating 1 kW of energy by laser fusion, making great strides toward the practical application of fusion power generation

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States announced on August 17, 2021 that it succeeded in generating nuclear fusion using 192 lasers and generating enormous energy exceeding 1 kW. ..

National Ignition Facility experiment puts researchers at threshold of fusion ignition | Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
https://www.llnl.gov/news/national-ignition-facility-experiment-puts-researchers-threshold-fusion-ignition

Lawrence Livermore Lab makes significant achievement in fusion
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/17/lawrence-livermore-lab-makes-significant-achievement-in-fusion.html

Lawrence Livermore claims a milestone in laser fusion
https://physicstoday.scitation.org/do/10.1063/PT.6.2.20210817a/

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory announced in an experiment conducted on August 8 that it succeeded in

laser fusion by irradiating a fuel pellet made of deuterium and tritium with a laser to cause a fusion reaction.

In this experiment conducted at the National Ignition Facility , which has three soccer fields, a total of 192 lasers were concentrated in a narrow area with a diameter of only one hair to cause a fusion reaction, and 1 kW. It was possible to generate the above energy.

'This achievement is a historic step in the field of inertial fusion research,' said Kim Budil, director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in a statement.

by kqedquest

What is emphasized in this announcement is that we are one step closer to achieving 'ignition,' which leads to the sustained stabilization of nuclear fusion. 'Ignition is a turning point in fusion where the heat generated by fusion outweighs any heat loss,' said Omar Hurricane, head of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The heat generated at the site causes nuclear fusion, which produces more heat. '

In this experiment, a huge amount of energy of 1.3 megajoules was generated, but since a large amount of energy was used for laser irradiation etc., the net energy production is close to zero when subtracted. However, being able to generate more than five times the energy absorbed by the fuel pellets is an important point for the realization of 'ignition' necessary for the practical application of fusion as commercial energy. Hurricane points out.

Details of the experimental results will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals and academic conferences in the future, but early preliminary analysis showed that the laboratory conducted eight times more experiments in the spring of 2021. It is said that promising data have been obtained, such as showing that the energy efficiency has improved by 25 times compared to the experiment conducted in 2018.