Posted on Dec 13, 2022
The U.S. reaches a fusion power milestone. Will it be enough to save the planet?
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https://www.npr.org/2022/12/13/ [login to see] /nuclear-fusion-breakthrough-climate-change
Scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy will announce a breakthrough in nuclear fusion later today.
The achievement came at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), a $3.5 billion laser complex at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. For more than a decade, NIF has struggled to meet its stated goal of producing a fusion reaction that generates more energy than it consumes.
But that changed in the dead of night on Dec. 5. At 1 AM local time, researchers used laser beams to zap a tiny pellet of hydrogen fuel. The energy out significantly exceeded the energy the lasers put in, according to sources familiar with the result.
It's a major achievement, one that the field of fusion science has struggled to reach for more than half a century. Researchers say that fusion energy could one day provide clean, safe electricity without greenhouse gas emissions.
Scientists with the U.S. Department of Energy will announce a breakthrough in nuclear fusion later today.
The achievement came at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), a $3.5 billion laser complex at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. For more than a decade, NIF has struggled to meet its stated goal of producing a fusion reaction that generates more energy than it consumes.
But that changed in the dead of night on Dec. 5. At 1 AM local time, researchers used laser beams to zap a tiny pellet of hydrogen fuel. The energy out significantly exceeded the energy the lasers put in, according to sources familiar with the result.
It's a major achievement, one that the field of fusion science has struggled to reach for more than half a century. Researchers say that fusion energy could one day provide clean, safe electricity without greenhouse gas emissions.
The U.S. reaches a fusion power milestone. Will it be enough to save the planet?
Posted from npr.org
Nuclear
Science
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Technology
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."It is a big scientific step.
— Ryan McBride, nuclear engineer
Still, the long-term potential is staggering, says Arati Dasgupta, a nuclear scientist with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Whereas a giant pile of carbon-spewing coal might generate electricity for a matter of minutes, the same quantity of fusion fuel could run a power plant for years — with no carbon dioxide emissions. "This is a great demonstration of the possibility," Dasgupta says. But, she adds, many technical issues remain. "It's a huge undertaking."
And getting economical power out of a fusion reactor is even tougher, says Roulstone. He and his team looked at a rival technology known as a tokamak and concluded that there were still an enormous number of challenges to making fusion work economically. His analysis estimated that fusion won't be ready for the grid before the second half of this century. He believes the same timeline holds for NIF's technology. "It's not very easy to see how you scale this into a power reactor quickly," he says.
By then most climate experts believe the world will have to have already made drastic cuts to carbon emissions to avoid the worst effects of climate change. To limit warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century, the world must nearly halve its carbon output by 2030 — a far shorter timescale than what's needed to develop fusion.
Betti agrees that the timeline to building a fusion plant is "definitely decades." But, he adds, that could change. "There's always a possibility of breakthrough," he says. And the new NIF results could help spur that breakthrough forward. "You're going to get more people to look into this form of fusion, to see whether we can turn it into an energy-making system."
..."It is a big scientific step.
— Ryan McBride, nuclear engineer
Still, the long-term potential is staggering, says Arati Dasgupta, a nuclear scientist with the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Whereas a giant pile of carbon-spewing coal might generate electricity for a matter of minutes, the same quantity of fusion fuel could run a power plant for years — with no carbon dioxide emissions. "This is a great demonstration of the possibility," Dasgupta says. But, she adds, many technical issues remain. "It's a huge undertaking."
And getting economical power out of a fusion reactor is even tougher, says Roulstone. He and his team looked at a rival technology known as a tokamak and concluded that there were still an enormous number of challenges to making fusion work economically. His analysis estimated that fusion won't be ready for the grid before the second half of this century. He believes the same timeline holds for NIF's technology. "It's not very easy to see how you scale this into a power reactor quickly," he says.
By then most climate experts believe the world will have to have already made drastic cuts to carbon emissions to avoid the worst effects of climate change. To limit warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century, the world must nearly halve its carbon output by 2030 — a far shorter timescale than what's needed to develop fusion.
Betti agrees that the timeline to building a fusion plant is "definitely decades." But, he adds, that could change. "There's always a possibility of breakthrough," he says. And the new NIF results could help spur that breakthrough forward. "You're going to get more people to look into this form of fusion, to see whether we can turn it into an energy-making system."
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel wow much interesting read/share good buddy. Now that's different for sure.
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I hope our Administration doesn't go overboard like they did with wind and solar energy. This is a good baby step it the right direct but there is still much to do.
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