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Have we really reached the turning point in terms of energy? Many doubts and perplexities, which have finally found an answer thanks to the announcement of the Department of Energy of the United States government. In recent years we have reported various attempts to emulate stellar energy around the globe, but in the end we have not yet seen anything concrete, therefore everyone is waiting to know exactly the results obtained from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in California.
Achieving nuclear fusion to produce clean energy would mean being able to emulate a process similar to what happens in the sun, where gravitational forces combined with extreme heat and pressure bring the nuclei of atoms together while releasing enormous amounts of energy.
But above all, it is a clean reaction that does not generate radioactive waste, as happens with nuclear fission. In recent years various attempts have been made with experimental reactors, using for example electromagnetic fields to stabilize the reaction, but for now the energy balance has always been negative. But is that still the case?
US Department of Energy officials announced a historic achievement in nuclear fusion on Tuesday, Dec. 13; for the first time, US scientists have produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy consumed to power the experiment. A so-called “net energy gain” is a milestone in a decades-long effort to obtain clean, unlimited energy from nuclear fusion, the reaction that occurs when two or more atoms are fused together.
The experiment put 2.05 megajoules of energy into the system and produced 3.15 megajoules of energy production from fusion, generating over 50% more energy than the input. It is the first time that an experiment has produced a significant gain in energy, even if for a fraction of a second. Nor should it be forgotten that the positive energy balance does not take into account the consumption of the lasers, therefore it is an excellent result in the laboratory, but very far from a possible effective implementation. The scientists said they needed to improve the number of reactions per minute, simplify the process and make it easily repeatable.
“This monumental scientific breakthrough is a milestone for the future of clean energy”said Democratic US Senator Alex Padilla of California.
The breakthrough was carried out by a team of scientists at the National Ignition Facility of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California on December 5, a facility the size of a sports stadium and equipped with 192 lasers.
“This astonishing scientific advance brings us ever closer to a future no longer dependent on fossil fuels but powered instead by new clean fusion energy”US Senate Majority Leader Charles Schume said.
It must be said that despite the great step forward, further scientific and technological developments will be needed to obtain a simple and cheap nuclear fusion power system to power homes and businesses, but the US Department of Energy has said it plans to launch a large-scale, coordinated program of private-sector investment, with the goal of rapidly accelerating the development of commercial solutions within decades .
The live broadcast took place at 16.00 and the results of the announcement were shared on the US Government Energy website (in SOURCE). We present it to you later.
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