Nuclear fusion is one of humanity's hopes to produce cleaner energy in large quantities. There are no radioactive side effects like the nuclear fission process and more importantly the amount of energy released is also much higher. Scientists from the United States Department of Energy (DoE) announced the success of producing nuclear fusion in the laboratory yesterday.
Last December 5, scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory used 192 lasers with a power of 2.05 megajoules (MJ) on a fuel source which then released 3.15 MJ of energy. More energy output is produced through this nuclear fusion process than the power input required to start the reaction. The giant National Ignition Facility (NIF) laser system is used which is also the largest and most powerful laser system in the world so far.
This is a major breakthrough because so far the only fusion that scientists have been able to produce is in the explosion of a hydrogen bomb. Naturally, fusion takes place in the sun. For nuclear fusion to occur, extremely high temperatures are required.
The DoE's first success in nuclear fusion is a continuous effort since the 1960s but only now is bearing fruit. Isotopes of deuterium and tritium combined through the fusion process will only produce helium and neutrons. No nuclear waste that is dangerous and can be used as a nuclear weapon is produced.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists use NIF lasers to produce high temperatures to allow fusion to occur. In China and South Korea, Tokamaks that produce man-made suns are used for the same purpose. This year, for example, China's Tokamak East maintained a temperature of 70 million degrees Celsius for 17.6 minutes, which is the longest period recorded in history.