Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California have succeeded for the first time in conducting a controlled thermonuclear reaction with a positive energy yield. This is an important step towards controlled thermonuclear fusion, which could in the future become the basis of cheap and environmentally friendly energy.
The results of the experiment were reported live on the website of the US Department of Energy, which owns the lab.
"This is a historic achievement… over the past 60 years thousands of people have contributed to this endeavour and it took real vision to get us here," LLNL Director Dr. Kim Budil said.
This will not lead to the immediate creation of working fusion plants, but it shows that their operation is achievable in practice.
Nuclear power plants existing today produce energy through a nuclear chain reaction, i.e., a controlled process of fission of uranium atoms accompanied by the release of significant amounts of energy, including radioactive waste. Fusion is a reverse process in which atoms fuse with each other to form a new chemical element. This reaction, which leaves almost no harmful emissions, is accompanied by an even more powerful release of energy.