In a milestone for nuclear fusion, an experiment with lasers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California (USA), has managed to produce more energy than that provided by the beam that triggered the fusion. This is what has happened at the atomic level in this experiment, which is one more step towards making an abundant source of energy without CO₂ emissions a reality.
This is how nuclear fusion works
to generate clean energy
192 lasers are fired into a hollow cylinder (hohlraum) causing extreme temperature and pressure.
capsule with
atoms of
hydrogen
The heat and pressure force the hydrogen isotopes to fuse, emulating the same process that occurs in the Sun and other stars.
The fusion gives rise to a helium nucleus. In the process, some of the remaining mass is converted to energy.
This is how nuclear fusion works to generate clean energy
192 lasers are fired into a hollow cylinder (hohlraum) causing extreme temperature and pressure.
capsule with
atoms of
hydrogen
The heat and pressure force the hydrogen isotopes to fuse, emulating the same process that occurs in the Sun and other stars.
The fusion gives rise to a helium nucleus. In the process, some of the remaining mass is converted to energy.
This is how nuclear fusion works to generate clean energy
Cylinder
(called hohlraum)
capsule with
atoms of
hydrogen
The heat and pressure force the hydrogen isotopes to fuse, emulating the same process that occurs in the Sun and other stars.
192 lasers are fired into a hollow cylinder (hohlraum) causing extreme temperature and pressure.
The fusion gives rise to a helium nucleus. In the process, some of the remaining mass is converted to energy.
The simultaneous firing of 192 powerful lasers against a capsule smaller than the fingernail of the little finger generates a temperature of three million degrees and an enormous pressure that allows hydrogen atoms to overcome their natural repulsion and unite to form helium atoms, releasing energy in the process, as would happen in stars. Both the beam and the release of energy last a fraction of a second.
Although the energy that arrived from the laser to the capsule with the hydrogen is less than that produced by fusion, the energy necessary to produce that beam, due to the inefficiency of the lasers used, is still much greater than that generated by the union of the hydrogen nuclei.
necessary facilities
to generate the fusion
To achieve the merger, 192 laser beams travel through a network of amplifiers and mirrors 1,500 meters to increase its power.
in microseconds laser beams multiply their energy millions of times and are led to the destination chamber.
In the target chamber, the lasers are transformed into ultraviolet energy and directed at the target: a hollow cylinder called a hohlraum. where the hydrogen atoms will fuse.
capsule with
atoms of
hydrogen
Facilities necessary to generate the merger
To achieve the merger, 192 laser beams travel through a network of amplifiers and mirrors 1,500 meters to increase its power.
National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore
in microseconds laser beams multiply their energy millions of times and are led to the destination chamber.
In the target chamber, the lasers are transformed into ultraviolet energy and directed at the target: a hollow cylinder called a hohlraum. where the hydrogen atoms will fuse.
capsule with
atoms of
hydrogen
Facilities necessary to generate the merger
To achieve the merger, 192 laser beams travel through a network of amplifiers and mirrors 1,500 meters to increase its power.
National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore
The goal of this 250-meter laboratory is to recreate the same pressure and temperature conditions that occur inside the sun and stars.
In the target chamber, the lasers are transformed into ultraviolet energy and directed at the target: a hollow cylinder called a hohlraum. where the hydrogen atoms will fuse.
in microseconds laser beams multiply their energy millions of times and are led to the destination chamber.
capsule with
atoms of
hydrogen
To get an idea of the amount of energy that nuclear fusion can produce if the extensive technical hurdles that still exist are overcome, about the same amount of energy could be extracted from one liter of water as from 300 liters of oil.
Unlike fission, which shoots neutrons at very heavy atoms like uranium to split them and release energy, fusion joins light atoms for the same purpose. In the first case, in addition to energy, large amounts of radioactive material are produced, which in some cases can be dangerous for thousands of years. In the case of the meltdown, the neutrons released in the operation would contaminate the reactor materials. The management of that waste would be easier, although it would require storing it for about a century.
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