DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Nuclear fusion experiment sets record for time at 100 million degrees Celsius
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Often referred to as the holy grail of climate solutions clean energy, fusion has the potential to provide limitless energy without planet-warming carbon pollution. KSTAR’s work “will be of great help to secure the predicted performance in ITER operation in time and to advance the commercialization of fusion energy,” Si-Woo Yoon said. This announcement adds to a number of other nuclear fusion breakthroughs. But commercializing nuclear fusion still remains a long way off as scientists work to solve fiendish engineering and scientific difficulties. Nuclear fusion “is not ready yet and therefore it can’t help us with the climate crisis now,” said Aneeqa Khan, research fellow in nuclear fusion at the University of Manchester in the UK.

Persons: Woo Yoon, ”, Aneeqa Khan, Angela Dewan Organizations: CNN — Scientists, KSTAR Research, Korean Institute of Fusion Energy, CNN, International, Reactor, Lawrence Livermore, Oxford, University of Manchester Locations: South Korea, France, United States

The United States will work with other governments to speed up efforts to make nuclear fusion a new source of carbon-free energy, U.S. Kerry spoke at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum. In southern France, 35 nations are collaborating on an experimental machine to harness fusion energy, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, to prove the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale, carbon-free source of energy. The global nuclear industry launched an initiative at COP28 for nations to pledge to triple this kind of nuclear energy by 2050. Commonwealth Fusion was founded in 2018 by researchers and students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Plasma Science and Fusion Center.

Persons: John Kerry, ” Kerry, Kerry, Andrew Holland, Dennis Whyte, Whyte, Edwin Lyman, Lyman, Bob Mumgaard, Mumgaard, it's Organizations: Climate, Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum, United Kingdom, United States, International, Reactor, Fusion Industry Association, Dubai, Commonwealth Fusion Systems, United, United Arab Emirates, Fusion, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Commonwealth Fusion, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Plasma Science, MIT, Commonwealth, Plasma Science, Fusion Center, Union of, Scientists, Washington, ARC, SPARC, AP Locations: States, U.S, Dubai, U.N, United States, France, Japan, Europe, China, Russia, Devens , Massachusetts, COP28, United Arab, Commonwealth, California

☆ Start-Ups With Laser Beams: The Companies Trying to Ignite Fusion Energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Kenneth Chang | More About Kenneth Chang | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In December last year, after years of trying, the National Ignition Facility, or NIF, at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory reported that it had finally lived up to its middle name: ignition. For the first time anywhere, a laser-induced burst of fusion produced more energy than that supplied by the incoming lasers. “We’re really excited by the NIF results,” said Kramer Akli, who manages the fusion energy sciences program at the United States Department of Energy. A decade ago, a report by the National Academy of Sciences found much to like in the energy potential of laser fusion but recommended that the United States hold off major investments until ignition was achieved. The sun generates heat and light by jamming — fusing — hydrogen atoms together into helium.

Persons: We’re, ”, Kramer Akli, arth, ould Organizations: National Ignition Facility, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, United States Department of Energy, National Academy of Sciences Locations: United States

☆ Why we don't have fusion power plants yet, and what it'll take to get clean, limitless energy to market
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-29 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Two experts explain how long it could take until fusion power plants are possible. Fusion plants could theoretically produce almost 4 million times as much energy as burning coal or oil — with none of the carbon emissions. It's what Andrew Christlieb, who is part of a US Department of Energy fusion project at Michigan State University, calls "step zero." The US Department of Energy's Fusion Energy Sciences program has a $763 million budget for 2023, which could grow to over $1 billion next year. Achieving commercial fusion power in two decades won't be quick enough to address many countries' goals of adapting clean energy and limiting global warming by 2035.

Persons: It's, Andrew Christlieb, Christlieb, Michael Livingston, PPPL, Jean, Paul Pelissier, it's, Jason Laurea, Lawrence, Jonathan Menard, Menard, Bill Gates, Sam Altman Organizations: Service, Ignition, NIF, US Department of Energy, Michigan State University, Royal Society, Reactor, REUTERS, European Union, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Princeton Plasma Physics, US Department of Energy's Fusion Energy Sciences, Fusion Industry Association, Tech Locations: PPPL, Saint, Durance , Southern France, US, China, Russia, Lawrence Livermore, Princeton

☆ The US is planning its first fusion plant, and it could generate pollution-free power by 2035
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Nuclear fusion is a breakthrough technology that could help the US achieve pollution-free power. Calling nuclear fusion a pioneering technology, Granholm said President Joe Biden wants to harness fusion as a carbon-free energy source that can power homes and businesses. A successful nuclear fusion was first achieved by researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California last December in a major breakthrough after decades of work. Nuclear energy is an essential component of the Biden administration's goal of achieving a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 and net zero emissions economy by 2050. "We want to see everybody moving forward as quickly as possible (on the clean energy transition), including ourselves," she said.

Persons: it's, —, Biden, Jennifer Granholm, Granholm, Joe Biden, It's, Dennis Whyte, Rishi Sunak, Sunak Organizations: Service, US, Associated Press, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Control, Plasma Science, Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Energy, UK Locations: VIENNA, Vienna, California, France, Washington

☆ How an astronaut’s experience as a migrant worker helped him soar into space
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-24 | by ( Catherine E. Shoichet | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —More than a decade after he became the first former migrant worker to soar into space as a NASA astronaut, José Hernández reached another milestone this month. Hernández, an engineer, made history aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 2009, the first shuttle mission sending two Latino astronauts into space. The film portrays Hernández’s perseverance as the space agency rejected Hernández’s astronaut applications 11 times before selecting him for the program in 2004. And it shows what a critical role Hernández’s family played supporting him along the way. Daniel Daza/PrimeIn a 2016 interview with CNN, Hernández described how important Adela was in his journey.

Persons: José Hernández, Michael Peña, ” Hernández, we’ve, Hernández, Daniel Daza, Salvador Hernández, “ I’d, they’d, ”, Julio César Cedillo, “, Alejandra Márquez Abella, bachelor’s, Rosa Salazar, Hernández’s, Adela, Obama, Reuters Hernández, Steve Ueckert, Alejandra, “ It’s, he’d, hadn’t, Nicole Stott, Christer Fuglesang, Jose Hernandez, Patrick Forrester, Kevin Ford, Joe Raedle, he’s, Eduardo Serralde, CNN’s Octavio Blanco Organizations: CNN, NASA, International Space, Amazon Prime, Space Shuttle Discovery, “, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Televisa, Mexican TV, Space Station, Reuters, Canada, United States, Español, Houston Chronicle, Stars, Discovery, Kennedy Space Center, KCRA Locations: California, “, Mexico, Mexican, Michoacán, North America, Canada, United States, United, Cape Canaveral , Florida, Luna

☆ Khosla Ventures backs effort to make orchards of lung-like material to absorb CO2 from air
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Spiritus has built a novel approach to direct air carbon capture that relies on a material that absorbs carbon dioxide passively. When the lung-like "fruit" have been collected from the carbon "orchard," they will be put in a container, where low heat will be applied to remove the carbon dioxide. That's important because while carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are at record high levels, carbon dioxide is still diluted and makes up a relatively small percentage of the air. That third component — economical — is critical in the direct air carbon capture field, and is part of what drew Khosla Ventures to make its first direct air capture investment in Spiritus. "We're able to remove about 1,000 times more carbon dioxide than a forest can.

Persons: Charles Cadieu, Matt Lee, Spiritus, Lee, Lee hadn't, Cadieu, Melinda Gates, she's, Leonardo da Vinci, We've, Rajesh Swaminathan, Swaminathan, what's Organizations: Silicon, Khosla Ventures, Page One Ventures, CNBC, Los Alamos National Lab, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Melinda Gates Foundation, GE Healthcare, Yahoo, Ventures, U.S . Department of Energy Locations: Western U.S, Spiritus

☆ The internet just went on a wild quest that could result in floating trains and cheap EVs
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-11 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The internet went wild over claims scientists discovered a room-temperature superconductor. Here's how a room-temperature superconductor could change everything:Revolutionize the medical industryMRI machines currently depend on liquid helium coolant to keep cool enough to operate. A room-temperature superconductor would go a step further in helping create these fields under normal conditions. With room-temperature superconductors, EV makers might be able to take a closer step towards delivering cheap battery-run cars. This is where room-temperature superconductors could one day step in.

Persons: It's, gloriously, Dr Niladri Banerjee, Banerjee, Michael Fuhrer, Massoud Pedram, Eugene Hoshiko, they'd, Jason Laurea, Lawrence, Robert Knopes, Getty Images Elon, Tesla Organizations: Imperial College London, Theory, School of Physics, Monash University, University of Southern, Airport, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, MIT's, Science, Fusion Center, Fusion Systems, Getty Images, TechCrunch Locations: South Korea, Australia, University of Southern California, Shanghai, China, Pudong, levitating, Lawrence Livermore

☆ US scientists trying to harness the power of the sun have made a 2nd major breakthrough for the future of sustainable, green energy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Why nuclear fusion is so important for global energy needsWe see the colossal power of nuclear fusion in action every day — the sun. Meaning that unlike fossil fuels, nuclear fusion doesn't contribute to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that are driving climate change. It was a major breakthrough and the first time a fusion experiment had ever generated an energy surplus. Why nuclear fusion beats nuclear fissionCurrent nuclear power plants use fission to make energy. While fission creates a chain reaction, nuclear fusion reactors of the future would not, avoiding the risk of a meltdown.

Persons: Energy Jennifer Granholm, Lawrence, Jason Laurea, Paul Rhien, J, Robert Oppenheimer, Arjun Makhijani, Daniel Jassby, Jassby Organizations: Service, International Energy Agency, Department of Energy, Energy, Ignition, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Financial Times, Manhattan, International Atomic Energy Agency, Scientists, Institute for Energy, Environmental Research, Princeton Plasma Physics Locations: Wall, Silicon, Lawrence Livermore, That's

☆ US scientists repeat fusion power breakthrough, Financial Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Researchers at the federal Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California repeated the breakthrough in an experiment on July 30 that produced a higher energy output than in December, the newspaper said, citing people with knowledge of the results. The same lab achieved a net energy gain in a fusion experiment using lasers on Dec. 5, 2022. The scientists focused a laser on a target of fuel to fuse two light atoms into a denser one, releasing the energy. The laboratory confirmed to the FT that energy gain had been achieved again at its laser facility, adding that analysis of the results was underway. The Lawrence Livermore National Lab and the U.S. Energy Department did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Persons: Damien Jemison, Lawrence, Lavanya, Leslie Adler Organizations: Target Chamber, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, REUTERS, Financial Times, Lawrence Livermore National Lab, U.S . Energy Department, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory federal, Livermore , California, U.S, Lawrence Livermore, California, Bengaluru

☆ What This Year’s ‘Astonishing’ Ocean Heat Means for the Planet
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Elena Shao | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +7 min

Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly on July 31, 2023 –6°F 0° +6° +9° Atlantic Ocean Pacific Ocean Pacific Ocean Indian Ocean Sea Surface Temperature Anomaly on July 31, 2023 –6°F 0° +6° +9°What This Year’s ‘Astonishing’ Ocean Heat Means for the PlanetBrutal heat waves have baked the world this summer and they haven’t been contained to land. Note: Average sea surface temperatures for ocean areas between 60 degrees north and 60 degrees south latitude are shown. The planet’s average sea surface temperature spiked to a record high in April and the ocean has remained exceptionally warm ever since. Some have suggested that international rules aimed at reducing air pollution from maritime shipping could have inadvertently increased ocean warming. Warmer ocean temperatures also provide more fodder for tropical cyclones and atmospheric river storms.

Persons: Jan, ”, Gregory Johnson, El, Michelle L’Heureux, Zeke Hausfather, Hausfather, El Niño, von Schuckmann, Dr, Johnson Organizations: Mar, University of Maine, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Locations: Atlantic, Florida, Berkeley, Tonga

☆ Oppenheimer never won a Nobel Prize, but these 31 scientists with ties to the Manhattan Project did
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-24 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

Manhattan Project: After a harrowing escape from Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943, Bohr began consulting on the Manhattan Project. Manhattan Project: Between 1943 and 1944, Muller was a civilian advisor for the Manhattan Project, consulting on experiments studying the effects of radiation. Maria Goeppert Mayer, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1963Maria Goeppert Mayer worked on the Manhattan Project and later won the Nobel Prize in physics. Manhattan Project: Working as an assistant to his father, Niels Bohr, Aage Bohr proved instrumental in interpreting for some members of the Manhattan Project. Manhattan Project: At 18, Glauber was still a student at Harvard when he became one of the youngest scientists to join the Manhattan Project.

Persons: Robert Oppenheimer, Alfred Nobel, Joseph Rotblat, Albert Einstein, Christopher Nolan's, Oppenheimer, Niels Bohr, Bohr, Nicholas Baker, Nick, James Franck, Boyer, Roger Viollet, Gustav Ludwig Hertz, Niels Bohr's, Franck, Arthur Compton, Imagno, Compton, Harold Urey, Harold, Urey, James Chadwick, Chadwick, Enrico Fermi, Fermi, Ernest Lawrence, Lawrence, Isidor Isaac Rabi, Nancy R, Schiff, Rabi, Hermann Muller, Muller, Edwin McMillan, Bettmann, Glenn Seaborg, McMillan, Elsie McMillan, Seaborg, Felix Bloch, Edward Purcell, Nobel, Hans Bethe, Bloch, Purcell, Emilio Segrè, Owen Chamberlain, Chamberlain, Segrè, Willard Libby, Leona Libby, Lowell, Libby, Linus Pauling, Leona Woods Marshall Libby, Eugene Wigner, Wigner, Leo Szilard's, Einstein, Franklin D, Roosevelt, Maria Goeppert Mayer, J, Hans Jensen, Goeppert Mayer, Teller, Richard Feynman, Tomonaga, Julian Schwinger, Fenynman, Hans Bethe's, Feynmwan, Feynman, Schwinger, Robert Mulliken, Mulliken, Szilard, Hans A, Bethe, Luis Alvarez, Alvarez, Enola Gay, Walter Alvarez, James Rainwater, Aage Bohr, Ben Mottelson, Rainwater, Wu, Aage Niels Bohr, Mottelson, mumbled, Val Fitch, James Cronin, Fitch, Jerome Karle, Isabelle, Larry Morris, Herbert Hauptman, Karle, Isabella Karle, Norman Ramsey, Ellie Welch, Ramsey, Norman Ramsey's Nobel, David Cheskin, Rotblat, Russell, Bertrand Russell, Enstinen, Frederick Reines, Philippe Caron, Sygma, Reines, Roy Glauber, Gail Oskin, Glauber Organizations: Manhattan Project, Service, Manhattan, US Army, AP, Getty, University of Chicago's Metallurgical Laboratory, Chicago Met, Los Angeles Examiner, USC, Columbia, Keystone, Gamma, Columbia University, University of Chicago, Trinity Test, University of California, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Hulton, Trinity, Deutsch, Los Alamos, University of Chicago's Metallurgical, Atomic Energy Commission, Harvard University, MIT Rad Lab, Denver, Chicago Met Lab, Materials Laboratory, Los, Radiation Laboratory, MIT, University of Chicago's, Princeton University, Naval Research Lab, Washington, US Naval Research Laboratory, Science, World Affairs, Einstein, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Harvard, Institute for Locations: Wall, Silicon, Polish, Denmark, Copenhagen, Nazi, London , Washington, Los Alamos, German, Germany, Japan, Manhattan, British, France, Washington, DC, Berkeley, Ridge , Tennessee, Los, New Mexico, Hanford, antiprotons, Hiroshima, Lowell Georgia, San Diego, Chicago, Washington ,

☆ A Venture Capitalist Imagines What Generative AI Will Change
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-19 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

‘I think it’s going to creep into our lives in ways we never expected,’ says Martin Casado about generative AI. Martin Casado is a general partner at venture-capital company Andreessen Horowitz, where he focuses on enterprise investing. Mr. Casado started his career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he worked on large-scale simulations for the Defense Department. His work, first as a researcher and now as an investor, gives him insight into the development of artificial-intelligence products and usage. Wall Street Journal reporter Berber Jin spoke with Mr. Casado at The Wall Street Journal’s CIO Network Summit about the current capabilities, and the possible future of, AI.

☆ Emission Cuts Will Fail to Stop Climate Change. What to Do Then?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Tunku Varadarajan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Bellevue, Wash. Sometimes it takes a visionary to throw cold water on a seemingly revolutionary development. When scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved a breakthrough in December—producing more energy in a fusion reaction than they used to ignite it—the Biden administration hyped the experiment as a quantum leap for its green agenda. “This milestone,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm boasted, “moves us one significant step closer to the possibility of zero-carbon abundant fusion energy powering our society.”

☆ Chatty AI and Protein-Predicting Algorithm Defined the Year in Emerging Tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Angus Loten | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +5 min

They also built supercomputers designed to handle the growing influx of data needed for evermore complex AI applications. Newsletter Sign-up WSJ | CIO Journal The Morning Download delivers daily insights and news on business technology from the CIO Journal team. Using an AI algorithm called AlphaFold, the London-based lab said it had expanded its database of predicted protein structures to 214 million, up from 1 million as of December 2021, representing all proteins known to science, including proteins found in animals, plants, bacteria and other organisms. Though researchers say the commercial application of nuclear fusion likely remains years and perhaps decades away, the technology might one day help fight climate change. In March, Sandbox AQ, a software startup developing quantum-computing and artificial-intelligence tools for commercial use, officially spun off from Alphabet’s Google to become a stand-alone company.

☆ When Will Fusion Be Ready for Prime Time? Watch These Three Numbers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Josh Zumbrun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The U.S. Energy Department this past week announced a breakthrough in research on nuclear fusion, after a controlled reaction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory produced more energy than it consumed. Fusion offers the potential for virtually limitless, clean energy. How long before this breakthrough can deliver on that promise? To get an idea, it’s helpful to know three simple numbers in the science and economics of fusion representing key “break-even points.”

☆ When Will Nuclear Fusion Energy Be Ready for Prime Time? Watch These Three Numbers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Josh Zumbrun | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ Nuclear Fusion Energy: What to Know About the Latest Scientific Breakthrough
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Aylin Woodward | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Energy Department said Tuesday that scientists had achieved a breakthrough in research on nuclear fusion, bringing them one step closer to possibly changing the future of clean energy. Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., where the milestone known as fusion ignition was achieved, have been studying nuclear fusion for more than a decade. The broad appeal of nuclear fusion to researchers, as well as investors and companies, stems from its potential as a clean-energy alternative to sources that involve the burning of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases.

☆ Fusion power is still decades and billions of dollars away, even after this week's major scientific breakthrough
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The nuclear fusion breakthrough heralded on Tuesday was a historic event, culminating decades of research. At the same time, fusion power will not be contributing electricity to any power grid for at least a decade, according to most industry watchers. "We got out 3.15 megajoules, we put in 2.05 megajoules in the laser," said Mark Herrmann, a program director at Lawrence Livermore, on Tuesday. All of that energy went into the laser fusion reaction that showed net gain of about 1.1 megajoules — enough energy to boil a teakettle maybe two or three times. "This is a science achievement, not a practical one," Omar A. Hurricane, a chief scientist at Lawrence Livermore, told CNBC.

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. The process imploded a tiny capsule inside the hohlraum that is filled with deuterium and tritium, creating a fusion reaction. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory"We have taken the first tentative steps toward a clean energy source," said Jill Hruby, the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration. The Inflation Reduction Act provided millions in new funding for fusion projects and the White House this year convened the first fusion summit and developed a 10-year plan to commercialize fusion technology. A technician reviews an optic inside the preamplifier support structure at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., in 2012.

☆ Nuclear-Fusion Breakthrough Accelerates Quest to Unlock Limitless Energy Source
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Aylin Woodward | Jennifer Hiller | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Energy Department said Tuesday that scientists at a federal research facility had achieved a breakthrough in research on nuclear fusion, long seen as a potential source of clean, virtually limitless energy. A controlled fusion reaction at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, Calif., produced more energy than it consumed, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm and other government officials said during a press conference from DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C.

☆ Nuclear fusion breakthrough: Scientists generate more power than used to create reaction
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Fusion is the way that the sun makes power, but recreating a useful fusion reaction here on earth has eluded scientists for decades. The National Ignition Facility target chamber at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is where scientists shoot lasers and watch and measure what happens when those lasers collide on a fuel source. Reaching ignition means the fusion experiment produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy that used to drive the reaction. "For the first time on Earth, scientists have confirmed a fusion energy experiment released more power than it takes to initiate, proving the physical basis for fusion energy. But it's proven extremely challenging to sustain a fusion reaction here on earth, and scientists have been trying for decades.

☆ How nuclear fusion works, and why it's a big deal for green energy that scientists made a 'breakthrough'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Paola Rosa-Aquino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US Department of Energy scientists produced a nuclear fusion reaction with a net energy gain. The US Department of Energy officially announced the milestone in fusion energy research on Tuesday. For the first time, researchers created a nuclear fusion reaction that produced more energy than they put into it. What is fusion energy and why is it a big deal? This illustration shows how lasers heat a target to the necessary conditions for nuclear fusion to occur.

☆ U.S. to announce scientific breakthrough on fusion energy -sources
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Companies U.S. Department of Energy FollowWASHINGTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Energy will announce on Tuesday that scientists at a national lab have made a breakthrough on fusion energy, the process that powers the sun and stars that one day could provide a cheap source of electricity, two sources with knowledge of the matter said. The scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have achieved a net energy gain for the first time, in a fusion experiment using lasers, one of the people said. Other methods of fusion use magnets instead of lasers. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm is slated to hold a media briefing on Tuesday at 10:00 EST (1500 GMT) on a "major scientific breakthrough." Private industry secured more than $2.8 billion dollars last year for fusion, according to the Fusion Industry Association for a total of about $5 billion in recent years.

Researchers for decades have attempted to recreate nuclear fusion – replicating the fusion that powers the sun. Nuclear fusion happens when two or more atoms are fused into one larger one, a process that generates a massive amount of energy as heat. Scientists across the globe have been inching toward the breakthrough, using different methods to try to achieve the same goal. This heat can then be used to warm water, create steam and power turbines to generate power. “The opposing argument is that this result is miles away from actual energy gain required for the production of electricity,” he said.

Search resuls for: "Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory"

25 mentions found