Scientists have managed to reproduce the same processes that occur inside the Sun. 4 out of 6 attempts were successful.
Researchers from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Lawrence, USA, spent the last year firing 192 lasers at hydrogen capsules and heating them to more than 100 million degrees Celsius. Thus, they were able to successfully create a thermonuclear fusion reaction 4 times to produce thermonuclear energy. This process occurs in the depths of stars, including the Sun, which allows these objects to exist. Nuclear fusion releases almost limitless clean energy. If such a reaction can be reproduced on a huge scale, it will allow us to abandon the use of fossil fuels and humanity will be provided with cheap energy, writes the Daily Mail.
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For the first time in the world, scientists from the Livermore National Laboratory. Lawrence achieved incredible results last December. They were able to create a nuclear fusion reaction that ended up producing more energy than was expended in a process known as ignition. Then scientists received 54% more energy than they spent on maintaining the reaction. This year, physicists have achieved similar results three more times.
This is important because thermonuclear fusion, when hydrogen atoms fuse to produce helium, which releases a huge amount of energy, also requires a large amount of energy. If we ensure that much less energy is spent on carrying out the reaction than is obtained in the end, this will make it possible to obtain almost limitless clean energy on an industrial scale. And scientists are approaching this goal step by step. That is, scientists want to receive on Earth the same energy that is created in the core of the Sun as a result of thermonuclear fusion.
The laboratory houses a special installation equipped with 192 lasers that shoot at diamond capsules containing hydrogen placed in a special gold cylinder. As a result, the capsules are heated to temperatures of more than 100 million degrees Celsius and even greater pressure is created than in the core of the Sun. After this, the hydrogen atoms fuse to form helium and a large amount of energy is released.
In July, physicists could get 85% more energy than they spent on creating thermonuclear fusion. As a result of two more experiments in October, scientists were able to obtain 89% more energy than during the December tests. There were two more not entirely successful attempts to obtain thermonuclear energy this year.
Physicists around the world have been trying to achieve similar results for many years, but so far not a single laboratory has managed to do this.
Scientists say they will continue their experiments in the hope of obtaining ever-increasing amounts of thermonuclear energy. It is worth saying that this technology is still at the very initial stage of its development, because many years may pass before the creation of operating thermonuclear reactors.
However, as I already wrote Focus, Japan recently launched an experimental thermonuclear reactor, which is currently the largest in the world. With the help of this reactor, physicists also want to obtain a large amount of thermonuclear energy, which will open the way to its production on an industrial scale.