We have 'ignition': Fusion breakthrough draws energy gain

Discussion in 'Science' started by Patricio Da Silva, Dec 14, 2022.

  1. Patricio Da Silva

    Patricio Da Silva Well-Known Member Donor

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2020
    Messages:
    31,262
    Likes Received:
    16,936
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    So, are they going to win a Nobel, ya think? And how long before society, as a whole, can benefit from this breakthrough? Since I'm 71, looks like I'll be very old or reincarnated in my next life (I believe in reincarnation, though I won't bet my life on it [hah hah!] ).

    Good development, though, as they have been trying for some 60 years to achieve this.

    https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/fusion-breakthrough-net-energy-gain-rcna61326

    U.S. scientists have achieved “ignition” — a fusion reaction that produced more energy than it took to create — a critical milestone for nuclear fusion and a step forward in the pursuit of a nearly limitless source of clean energy, Energy Department officials said Tuesday.

    Nuclear fusion, the process that powers the sun and other stars, occurs when two atoms’ nuclei collide under extreme temperatures, causing a reaction that can generate incredible amounts of energy with few environmental costs.


    Scientists have been chasing the promise of fusion since the dawn of the atomic age, but had yet to cross a threshold in which more energy was created by a fusion reaction than the energy needed to produce it.

    To exceed that milestone, researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility last week fired the energy of 192 laser beams at a cylindrical target called a hohlraum, creating x-ray radiation. The radiation imploded a tiny, diamond capsule filled with two isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium, releasing energy.


    and....

    https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/scientists-achieve-breakthrough-nuclear-fusion
     
    Last edited: Dec 14, 2022
  2. 19Crib

    19Crib Well-Known Member Past Donor

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2021
    Messages:
    5,647
    Likes Received:
    5,529
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    https://arstechnica.com/science/202...g-boost-in-fusion-energy-announced-this-week/
    It is a baby step.
     
  3. Diablo

    Diablo Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2016
    Messages:
    2,772
    Likes Received:
    2,310
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    We'll be 30 years away from commercial operation for the next 30 years, just like we always have been. Dream on.
     
  4. WillReadmore

    WillReadmore Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2013
    Messages:
    59,488
    Likes Received:
    16,351
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Isn't the recent advance more of a step in engineering that has been known, but is hard to construct?

    It can be hard to divide science and engineering, but this one seems reasonably clear, at least as I understand it.
     
  5. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2016
    Messages:
    27,942
    Likes Received:
    19,979
    Trophy Points:
    113
    They have never been able to get net positive energy in 60 years. This is a very big deal. It proves that man-made fusion can produce net positive energy.

    Making this translate to a useful source of power is a whole new problem. But at least we know it is possible in principle to produce a net positive fusion reaction.
     
    Last edited: Dec 25, 2022
  6. HereWeGoAgain

    HereWeGoAgain Banned

    Joined:
    Nov 11, 2016
    Messages:
    27,942
    Likes Received:
    19,979
    Trophy Points:
    113
    No. The essential physics of net energy production in the lab, was never proven possible before. NOW the real engineering can begin. Until now all engineering was just a tool to test the physics.
     
    Last edited: Dec 25, 2022
  7. WillReadmore

    WillReadmore Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2013
    Messages:
    59,488
    Likes Received:
    16,351
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Starting and stopping a fusion reaction of the scale needed for energy production and maintaining the reaction in isolation has been the major issue for decades.

    Simply creating fusion in a tiny capsule doesn't appear to me to be considered progress in the objective of fusion energy.

    Maybe it is, but I don't believe those working on fusion power believe so.
     
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2023
  8. Patricio Da Silva

    Patricio Da Silva Well-Known Member Donor

    Joined:
    Apr 26, 2020
    Messages:
    31,262
    Likes Received:
    16,936
    Trophy Points:
    113
    Gender:
    Male
    Well, as you progress and need more and more funding, good news will keep the skids greased for longer, one would hope.
     
  9. WillReadmore

    WillReadmore Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Nov 21, 2013
    Messages:
    59,488
    Likes Received:
    16,351
    Trophy Points:
    113
    True.

    However, if it spurs funding, why would that funding go to the projects that are working on creating commercial fusion power?

    The Dec. 5, 2022 progress was on microscopic samples with the objective of analysis for nuclear weapons maintenance - studying the behavior of matter in a nuclear explosion. This is a DoE project. The DoE is who creates and maintains our nuclear weapons.

    I don't see anyone who thinks that technology applies to commercial fusion power.
     
    Patricio Da Silva likes this.

Share This Page