Foreign news agencies reported that scientistfrom the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California. Announced on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022 that they have reached a stalemate in producing energy using reactions.nuclear fusiongot it
NIF scientists say that on Dec. 5 they conducted a nuclear fusion reaction test. And for the first time, this results in net energy gain. can produce more power than the amount of energy consumed
NIF scientists conducted a fusion reaction by storing a small amount of hydrogen particles in a capsule the size of a pepper. Before firing Laser-192 which has a high power to heat the capsule up to 100 million degrees Celsius, higher than the core of the Sun. This causes an explosion inside the capsule, squeezing two light hydrogen atoms together into a heavier atom.
Dr. Marvin Adams, deputy security program administrator for the US National Nuclear Security Administration, said the lab’s laser beam put 2.05 megajoules of energy on the target. and can produce 3.15 megajoules of fusion energy.
Nuclear fusion is known as Holy Grail of Energy Production It produces the same energy as the Sun and other stars. Scientists have been trying to develop technology to find this near limitless source of clean energy for decades.
Fusion is the opposite of nuclear ‘fission’ which forces heavy atoms to separate. It is a technology currently used in nuclear power plants, but fission produces large amounts of waste and radiates radioactivity over a long period of time.
Nuclear fusion also produces much more energy than fission. And produces a small amount of radioactive waste and releases radiation for a short time Importantly, this process does not generate greenhouse gases, therefore does not affect global warming.
However, one of the biggest obstacles to fusion is Forcing and maintaining the state of the atoms It requires a lot of heat and high pressure. There has never been an experiment in which scientists have been able to produce more energy than the amount of energy required to cause a fusion reaction.
This achievement has sparked hope for the realization of nuclear fusion methods, but LLNL Director Dr. Kim Budil reiterated in the press release that There are still many obstacles that must be overcome first. but with concerted effort and investment in relevant technology research. May allow us to reach the point where we can build a power plant within 20-30 years.
Before this stalemate breaks through Scientists had expected It may take 50-60 years for humans to reach the stage of building a fusion nuclear power plant. Another big obstacle is To reduce costs and increase energy production. The latest experiment used a budget of 3.5 billion US dollars. But getting enough energy back to boil boiling water for only 15-20 kettles