US scientists confirm ‘major breakthrough’ in nuclear fusion; World to get unlimited energy?
US researchers announced a historic breakthrough in nuclear fusion technology on Tuesday, hailing a “landmark achievement” in the quest for a source of unlimited, clean power and an end to reliance on fossil fuels. The achievement was made at the US Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, San Francisco.
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) said it had used the world’s largest laser to create, for the first time, a fusion reaction that replicated the process that powers the sun and generated more energy than it took to produce — a goal pursued by scientists for decades.
Nuclear fusion has been touted by its supporters as a clean, abundant and safe source of energy that could eventually allow humanity to break its dependence on coal, crude oil, natural gas and other hydrocarbons driving a global climate crisis.
Fusion is defferent, but more powerful, way of harnessing the immense energy trapped in the nucleus of an atom. This is the process that makes the sun and all other stars shine and radiate energy. Attems to master the fusion process have been going on at least since the 1950s but it is incredibly difficult and still at an experimental stage.
While the results represent a breakthrough, it’s still a long way to creating a viable technology, let alone delivering enough clean energy to help wean the world off fossil fuels and limit climate change.
