Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Apr 02, 2025

US scientists reach long-awaited nuclear fusion breakthrough, source says

For the first time ever, US scientists at the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California successfully produced a nuclear fusion reaction resulting in a net energy gain, a source familiar with the project confirmed to CNN.
The US Department of Energy is expected to officially announce the breakthrough Tuesday.

The result of the experiment would be a massive step in a decadeslong quest to unleash an infinite source of clean energy that could help end dependence on fossil fuels. Researchers for decades have attempted to recreate nuclear fusion – replicating the fusion that powers the sun.

US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm will make an announcement Tuesday on a “major scientific breakthrough,” the department announced Sunday. The breakthrough was first reported by the Financial Times.

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. Unlike nuclear fission that powers electricity all over the world, it doesn’t generate long-lived radioactive waste.

Scientists across the globe have been inching toward the breakthrough, using different methods to try to achieve the same goal.

The National Ignition Facility project creates energy from nuclear fusion by what’s known as “thermonuclear inertial fusion.” In practice, US scientists fire pellets that contain a hydrogen fuel into an array of nearly 200 lasers, essentially creating a series of extremely fast, repeated explosions at the rate of 50 times per second.

The energy collected from the neutrons and alpha particles is extracted as heat, and that heat holds the key to producing energy.

“They contain the fusion reaction by bombarding the outside with lasers,” Tony Roulstone, a fusion expert from the University of Cambridge’s Department of Engineering, told CNN. “They heat up the outside; that creates a shockwave.”

Even though getting a net energy gain from nuclear fusion is a big deal, it’s happening on a much smaller scale than what’s needed to power electric grids and heat buildings.

“It’s about what it takes to boil 10 kettles of water,” said Jeremy Chittenden, co-director of the Centre for Inertial Fusion Studies at Imperial College in London. “In order to turn that into a power station, we need to make a larger gain in energy – we need it to be substantially more.”

In the UK, scientists are working with a huge donut-shaped machine outfitted with giant magnets called a tokamak to try to generate the same result.

After a small amount of fuel is injected into the tokamak, giant magnets are activated to create a plasma. The plasma needs to reach at least 150 million degrees Celsius, 10 times hotter than the core of the sun. This forces the particles from the fuel to fuse into one. With nuclear fusion, the fused product has less mass than the original atoms. The missing mass converts to an enormous amount of energy.

Neutrons, which are able to escape the plasma, then hit a “blanket” lining the walls of the tokamak, and their kinetic energy transfers as heat. This heat can then be used to warm water, create steam and power turbines to generate power.

Last year, scientists working near Oxford were able to generate a record-breaking amount of sustained energy. Even so, it only lasted 5 seconds.

Whether it’s using magnets or shooting pellets with lasers, the result is ultimately the same: Heat sustained by the process of fusing the atoms together holds the key to helping produce energy.

The big challenge of harnessing fusion energy is sustaining it long enough so that it can power electric grids and heating systems around the globe.

Chittenden and Roulstone told CNN that scientists around the globe now must work toward dramatically scaling up their fusion projects, and also bring the cost down. Getting it commercially viable will take years of more research.

“At the moment we’re spending a huge amount of time and money for every experiment we do,” Chittenden said. “We need to bring the cost down by a huge factor.”

However, Chittenden called this new chapter in nuclear fusion “a true breakthrough moment which is tremendously exciting.”

Roulstone said there’s much shows more work needs to happen to make fusion able to generate electricity on a commercial scale.

“The opposing argument is that this result is miles away from actual energy gain required for the production of electricity,” he said. “Therefore, we can say (it) is a success of the science but a long way from providing useful energy.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Europe Pursues Digital Autonomy Amidst Transatlantic Strains
OpenAI Lands Unprecedented $40 Billion Funding.
Charity Chairwoman Accuses Prince Harry of Bullying and Harassment
DOGE revealed that USAID provided $84 million to the Clinton Foundation. Of this amount, $3 million was spent on Chelsea Clinton's wedding, and $10 million was used to acquire a lavish mansion.
The State Department has announced the formal closure of USAID.
Apple's Innovation Deficit: Falling Behind in AI and Foldable Technology as Chinese Developments Progress
President Trump Proposes Military Intervention to Obtain Greenland
Passenger Taken into Custody After Engaging in Masturbation on SWISS Air Flight
Barcelona player Dani Alves found not guilty of rape accusations.
PUTIN'S LIMOUSINE DETONATES—SECURITY CHAOS ENSUES
French Foreign Ministry Denounces U.S. Interference in Corporate Diversity Initiatives
Copyright Issues Emerge as AI-Generated Studio Ghibli Images Gain Popularity
This is what we refer to as CREATIVITY.
Removing the Political Opponent Means Dismissing the Remnants of Turkey's Economy.
Malaysia Strengthens Semiconductor Regulations in Response to U.S. Pressure to Restrict AI NVIDIA Chip Exports to China.
OpenAI Launches New Image Generation Tool for ChatGPT
Ex-FIFA President and French Football Icon Acquitted of Corruption Allegations
National Security Advisor Mike Waltz Under Investigation After Journalist Added to Secret Military Chat
Ex-Business Partner of Hunter Biden Discusses Possible Pardon from President Trump
U.S. Attorney General Announces Task Force to Prosecute Government Fraud
American Brands Face Consumer Boycott in Europe Amid Escalating Trade and Political Tensions
White House Investigates Security Breach After Journalist Accidentally Added to Secret Yemen Strike Chat
Samsung Executive Han Jong-hee Dies Suddenly Amid Ongoing Corporate Challenges
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has just signed off on a national debt hike to fast-track Germany’s militarization
Heathrow Airport Restarts Services as Investigation into Power Outage Commences
Pope Francis Released from Hospital Following Pneumonia Treatment
Pope Francis Appears in Public for the First Time in Five Weeks After His Hospital Stay
Usha Vance to Head U.S. Delegation During Greenland Visit Amid Discussions on Annexation
Trump suggests US could join British Commonwealth if offered by King Charles
Elon Musk Files Lawsuit Against Jamaal Bowman for Defamatory Remarks
European Countries to Boost Defense Expenditures in Response to Changes in U.S. Assistance
Iconic Boxer George Foreman Dies at 76
European Airline Shares Fall Following Disruption from Heathrow Power Outage
Pope Francis Set to Leave Hospital Following Recovery from Pneumonia
Thousands Take to the Streets in Amsterdam to Protest Racism and Fascism
Revealing the Electromagnetic Characteristics of the Great Pyramid of Giza
President Trump Cancels Security Clearances for Notable Political Figures.
The Development of China's Automotive Sector
Netanyahu Dismisses Shin Bet Chief Amid 'Loss of Trust' and 'Qatargate' Corruption Investigations Involving Netanyahu's Advisors
UK Conservatives Remain Optimistic Despite Polling Challenges
Labour MPs Unveil Initiative to Combat Harmful Influencers and Advocate for Healthy Masculinity
Miami Beach Mayor Cancels Plan to Expel Cinema Following Documentary Showing
Thousands of Drones Illuminate the Sky in Honor of Trump.
Leaders of the US and Ukraine Participate in Constructive Call During Ongoing Conflict
Elon Musk's X Experiences Valuation Recovery to $44 billion.
UK Government Set to Implement Major Budget Cuts in Spring Statement
US Federal Reserve Downgrades Economic Growth Outlook Due to Tariff Uncertainty
EU Claims US Tech Giants Have Violated Digital Regulations
Canada Denounces the Execution of Its Citizens in China Amid Rising Tensions
European Union Moves Toward Joint Debt for Military Spending
×