Nuclear fusion breakthrough

Why subscribe? • The ultimate action-packed science and technology magazine bursting with exciting information about the universe • Subscribe today and save an extra 5% with checkout code 'LOVE5' • Engaging articles, amazing illustrations & exclusive interviews • Issues delivered straight to your door or device On Tuesday (Dec. 13), physicists at the U.S. government-funded National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California announced that they were able to fire a laser carrying roughly 2 megajoules of energy into a tiny fuel pellet made up of two hydrogen isotopes, turning the atoms into plasma and producing 3 megajoules of energy — a 50% increase. Scientists are very excited by the results, but wary of overhyping them. The reactor as a whole did not produce a net gain of energy. For a fusion reaction to be practically useful, the tens of megajoules drawn from the electrical grid, converted into the laser beams and fired into the reactor core would have to be significantly less than the energy released from the plasma. What's more, the reaction takes place in a tiny fuel pellet inside the world's biggest laser, lasts only a few billionths of a second, and can only be repeated every six hours. This makes the reaction far too inefficient for practical purposes. "Net energy gain is a significant milestone, but to put it in perspective, it means fusion is now where Fermi put fission about eighty years ago," Ian Lowe, a physicist and emeritu...

• Pittsburgh synagogue shooter found guilty in Tree of Life attack • New details emerge about U.S. couple found dead in Mexico hotel • DOJ report finds Minneapolis police use "dangerous" excessive force • Ja Morant suspended for 25 games without pay, NBA announces • U.S. says Ukraine counteroffensive could be long, and at a "high cost" • Iowa Supreme Court declines to reinstate law banning most abortions • Surgeon found guilty in teen's death after botched breast surgery • Former head of U.K. police watchdog group charged with raping a minor • Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Spotify deal over after just one series • • Shows • Live • Local • More • • Latest • Video • Photos • Podcasts • In Depth • Local • Global Thought Leaders • Innovators & Disruptors • • Log In • Newsletters • Mobile • RSS • CBS Store • Paramount+ • Join Our Talent Community • Davos 2023 • Search • Search • Last month, the nearest star to the Earth was in California. In a laboratory, for the first time, the world's largest lasers forced atoms of hydrogen to fuse together in the same kind of energy producing reaction that fires the sun. It lasted less than a billionth of a second. But, after six decades of toil and failure, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory proved it could be done. If fusion becomes commercial power one day, it would be endless and carbon free. In other words, it would change human destiny. As you'll see, there's far to go. But after December's breakthrough, we were invited to t...

Though the research finding is just that—i.e., a result with no immediate consequences for our energy infrastructure—it is a necessary milestone for any society seeking what’s often referred to as the holy grail of energy research: a zero-carbon energy source that produces far more power than it requires to operate. In other words, and with quite a few caveats, unlimited power. Per the Financial Times’ reporting, it’s expected that the DOE will announce that a reaction at the National Ignition Facility produced more energy than it took to catalyze the reaction. Issues of scale, cost, timeline, and manifold other matters notwithstanding, it’s a momentous and long-awaited event. Alongside the DOE officials will be White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar, NNSA Deputy Administrator for Defense Programs Marvin Adams, and Kim Budil, the director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It’s a big month for the laboratory. Last week, research published in Nature revealed a 2-million-year-old paleoenvironment in Northern Greenland, one resurrected from the oldest-yet-known DNA. The DNA was frozen in permafrost, and