Long-awaited nuclear fusion breakthrough reached

[Toliman]

US scientists reach long-awaited nuclear fusion breakthrough, source says
https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/12/politics/nuclear-fusion-energy-us-scientists-climate/index.html

For the first time ever, US scientists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California successfully produced a nuclear fusion reaction resulting in a net energy gain, a source familiar with the project confirmed to CNN.

The US Department of Energy is expected to officially announce the breakthrough Tuesday.

The result of the experiment would be a massive step in a decadeslong quest to unleash an infinite source of clean energy that could help end dependence on fossil fuels. Researchers for decades have attempted to recreate nuclear fusion – replicating the fusion that powers the sun.

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will make an announcement Tuesday on a "major scientific breakthrough," the department announced Sunday. The breakthrough was first reported by the Financial Times.

Nuclear fusion happens when two or more atoms are fused into one larger one, a process that generates a massive amount of energy as heat. Unlike nuclear fission that powers electricity all over the world, it doesn't generate long-lived radioactive waste.

Scientists across the globe have been inching toward the breakthrough, using different methods to try to achieve the same goal.

[Vawmataw]

It's barely the beginning, but the future is much less far away.

[Toliman]

It's barely the beginning, but the future is much less far away.

Yeah, that is just beginning but it's important success

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

I heard that they not only reached breakeven, but significantly exceeded it. Still waiting to hear verification of what I heard.

[Toliman]

Yeah, that I heard too. It would be really great.

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Here's what I found: The energy input to the target was about 2 megajoules, and they got 3 megajoules out. However, the lasers used to bombard the target are only about 1 percent efficient. So there is a long ways to go before they reach breakeven for total energy used. However, its a really good start!

[Toliman]

Yeah, still long way but good start for next work.

[Blue Elf]

Well, it looks like beginning of our energetic future. Maybe it still will not be available during my life, but first step was taken. Good news for us. Just hope that usage of this technology will be peaceful, not misused in any war.

[Toliman]

Well, it looks like beginning of our energetic future. Maybe it still will not be available during my life, but first step was taken. Good news for us. Just hope that usage of this technology will be peaceful, not misused in any war.

I would say that there is really still long way before practical usage of this technology in the energetic. I am not too optimistic that it could be during my life.

Unfortunatelly almost every such technology can be misused in war.

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Another experiment to keep your eyes on is the Wendelstein 7X experiment in Germany. It is a stellarator design, and they already have had considerable success with it. I suspect thay are going to have significant results long before they get anything out of ITER. I personally don't think Tokamak designs are the best way going forward.

[Toliman]

Nice, it would be great!

[Toliman]

Wendelstein 7X experiment in Germany

[Vawmataw]

Sounds like a very cool project 

[`Eylan Ayfalulukanä]

Here's a video with a nice introduction of the stellerator concept, and an exploration of the basic structure of Wendelstein 7-X: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyqt6u5_sHA

Here's another video of an entirely new fusion machine concept that holds a lot of promise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bDXXWQxK38

[Toliman]

Sounds like a very cool project 

Yeah, it is

[Toliman]

Here's a video with a nice introduction of the stellerator concept, and an exploration of the basic structure of Wendelstein 7-X: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyqt6u5_sHA

Here's another video of an entirely new fusion machine concept that holds a lot of promise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bDXXWQxK38

Eltur tìtxen si Irayo for sharing.

[Blue Elf]

US scientists repeat fusion ignition breakthrough for 2nd time
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-scientists-repeat-fusion-power-breakthrough-ft-2023-08-06/
(in Czech language: https://www.novinky.cz/clanek/veda-skoly-neomezeny-zdroj-energie-zase-o-kousek-bliz-v-kalifornii-zopakovali-fuzi-s-cistym-ziskem-40439930)
Nuclear fusion again produced more energy than it required for initiation. We are still far from getting unlimited energy source, but another step was taken.

[Toliman]

Good news

[Toliman]

Pioneering nuclear-fusion reactor shuts down: what scientists will learn
https://www.txnuclearnews.com/post/pioneering-nuclear-fusion-reactor-shuts-down-what-scientists-will-learn

Scientists have begun to decommission one of the world's foremost nuclear-fusion reactors, 40 years after it began operations. Researchers will study the 17-year process of dismantling the Joint European Torus (JET) near Oxford, UK, in unprecedented detail — and use the knowledge to make sure future fusion power plants are safe and financially viable.

"We are starting to think seriously about a fusion power plant," says Rob Buckingham, who leads on decommissioning for the UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA), which oversees JET. "This means thinking about the whole plant life cycle."