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Target chamber of the NIF
Photo: Philip Saltonstall / Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
It is a historic breakthrough in the field of nuclear fusion: For the first time, the fusion of atomic nuclei produced more energy than was consumed, as US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm announced in Washington.
»Put simply, this is one of the most impressive scientific achievements of the 21st century«.
The results, obtained by a team of researchers at the state's National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, mark a milestone in the discovery of a new energy source.
Nuclear fusion is regarded as a beacon of hope – it might be possible to generate huge amounts of electricity safely and in a climate-neutral manner.
However, there is still a long way to go before mass production due to the continuing major technical hurdles.
Almost a year ago, advances in nuclear fusion were announced at the institute.
In the process, the plasma was ignited, a research team reported earlier this year in the journal Nature.
This ultimately results in the fusion reaction becoming self-sustaining.
In the nuclear fusion reactor, the fuel is in the form of plasma – this state of aggregation is created when a gas is extremely heated.
bonding forces used by atoms
Both nuclear power and nuclear fusion derive energy from the binding forces of atomic nuclei.
With nuclear power, however, large atoms are split, radioactive waste is produced, among other things, and there is a risk of serious accidents.
Nuclear fusion, on the other hand, fuses small atomic nuclei into larger ones, and the technology is considered clean and safe.
This form of energy generation is similar to what happens in stars like the sun.
For their experiments, the researchers in California used the world's most powerful laser system to convert tiny amounts of heavy and superheavy hydrogen (deuterium and tritium) into plasma at a temperature of around one million degrees.
Many laser beams heat up the inside of a container a few millimeters in size.
ani/dpa
