Massive breakthrough in nuclear fusion achieved! A step closer to clean energy, US set to make announcement

According to three people with knowledge of preliminary results from a recent experiment, US government scientists have made a breakthrough in the quest for limitless, zero-carbon power by achieving a net energy gain in a fusion reaction for the first time.

The US department of energy has said energy secretary Jennifer Granholm and under-secretary for nuclear security Jill Hruby will announce “a major scientific breakthrough” at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory on Tuesday. The department declined to comment further.

The LLNL spokesperson added that their "analysis is still ongoing. We look forward to sharing more on Tuesday when that process is complete".

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What is the experiment all about?

According to the people, the federal Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, which uses a process called inertial confinement fusion, which involves bombarding a tiny pellet of hydrogen plasma with the world's largest laser, had achieved net energy gain in a fusion experiment in the past two weeks.
Although many scientists believe that fusion power plants are still a distant dream, the technology's potential is indisputable. Fusion reactions produce no long-lived radioactive waste and can theoretically power a house for hundreds of years with onlya small cup of hydrogen fuel.

What it could mean for the world?

The US breakthrough comes at a time whenthe world isgrapplingwith high energy prices and is inurgent need to shift away from the use of fossil fuelsin order to keep average global temperatures from reaching dangerous levels. The Biden administration is investing nearly $370 billion in new low-carbon energy subsidies through the Inflation Reduction Act in an effort to reduce emissions and win a global race for next-generation clean technology.

If this fusion energy breakthrough is true, it could be a game changer for the world. https://t.co/bSeCnWCE19 — Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) December 11, 2022

Why is this experiment a "major breakthrough"?

Since the 1950s, physicists have attempted to harness the fusion reaction that powers the sun, but no group has been able to produce more energy from the reaction than it consumes - a milestone known as net energy gain or target gain that would help demonstrate the process could provide a reliable, abundant alternative to fossil fuels and conventional nuclear energy.

Fusion differs from fission, the current technique used in nuclear power plants, in which theatomic nucleussplitinto pieces rather than fusing it with another nucleus.

The LLNL fusion facility is made up of nearly 200 lasers the size of three football fields that are used to bombard a tiny spot with high levels of energy in order to start a fusion reaction.