For the first time in history, scientists obtained more energy than the energy spent on the fusion reaction. Let’s look at the details of success.
The United States has announced a historic achievement for humanity. Success, which the scientific world has been pursuing for a long time, offers unlimited energy in theory. fusion reaction was in the field. Let’s explain the shared information in detail.
Historic achievement was achieved at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, established by the University of California in 1952. For the first time in history for a fusion reaction More energy was obtained than the energy expended.
So how was this success achieved? What exactly did the scientists do?
Different from the fusion reaction methods often used to achieve historic success, scientists say, “Inertial Confinement FusionHe turned to a method called ”. In the process, the hydrogen plasma was ‘bombed’ with the world’s largest laser.
The process was simply step by step as follows:
- Laser beams were fired into the space inside the reactor, with a maximum of 192. Thus, the inside of the reactor was heated, very high temperature plasma formed.
- X-rays produced by lasers from deuterium and tritium isotopes reflected in the cavity from the formed layer surface.
- The fuel capsule located in the middle of the cavity inside the reactor exploded, providing the necessary conditions for the fusion reaction. Energy efficiency was achieved by dissipating the heat fast enough in the fuel.
Upon successful completion of the above steps, the fusion reaction 2.5 megajoules succeeded in generating energy. The energy expended by lasers for the reaction is 2.1 megajoules was.
This power was so great that even the equipment was damaged:
Speaking to the Financial Times and taking part in the study, the two names explained that they did not expect the energy obtained to be this high. In fact, the energy was so high that some of the reactions used to analyze the reaction were damage to equipment led to
Why is this success important? Why is humanity chasing fusion energy?
Since the 1950s, scientists have been working to create the fusion reaction, which is also the energy source of the Sun, on Earth. However, no energy has been used in any study to date. no more energy could be obtained.
The success announced today will also be a major milestone for humanity’s transition to fusion energy. Thanks to fusion energy without producing any carbon emissions or nuclear power plants without nuclear waste energy can be produced.
Of course, according to many scientists, there is still a long period of time until our transition to fusion energy with ‘fusion power plants’. But at this point, the speed of development of technology is also of great importance. So our transition could happen in a much shorter time than anticipated.
Important information about the laboratory where the historical success was achieved:
The national laboratory, where success was achieved, was originally established to develop nuclear weapons with an expenditure of 3.5 billion dollars. However, the laboratory is used today especially for fusion energy research.
Statement from the White House Office of Science and Director of Technology Policy
Following the research and the project closely, White House Science Office and Technology Policy Director Dr. Arati Prabhakar, the success of the project It is a very important step for humanity. stated. Prabhakar also stated that the project “To produce an amount of energy equivalent to fusion bursts in the sun and other starsHe explained that it will continue and that more attention will be paid to the steps to be taken.
Statement on nuclear weapons from the NNSA Director of Defense Programs
NNSA (National Nuclear Security Administration) Director of Defense Programs, Dr. Marvin “Marv” Adams said in a statement that this success is in addition to clean energy. It can also be used in the production of energy weapons and nuclear weapons. explained. As we see in the movies, in addition to large-scale nuclear weapons energy-based portable weapons Stating that they want to produce in the fusion project, Adams said that they are working on both the fusion project and energy weapons. to enlarge teams explained.
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