Nuclear Fusion Achives Milestone

[Blue]

For the first time ever, Scientists have generated more energy output than the input, actually generating energy from the fuel, using Nuclear Fusion.

(Shown: The fuel capsule used in the reaction. The tiny hydrogen fuel ball is smaller than the tip of a pencil.)

For many years it's been possible to generate a fusion reaction, but the real challenge is reclaiming energy out of the reaction that can be harnessed and used to generate electricity. Scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Labratory near San Fransisco, California, however have been able to successfully generate more power than the initial input, making Nuclear Fusion a solid possibility for power generation.

The reaction process consists of firing high-powered lasers at the capsule, which is lined on the insides with Deuterium and Tritium. The energy would compress the capsule to immense pressure and heat, causing the fuel particles to run towards each other and combine on the atomic level. Although the reaction itself lasted only a ten-billionth of a second, (1x10^-10), it was able to generate 17.3 kilojoules, which is enough to run a lightbulb for a few minutes. A far cry from the amount of energy put in to initiate the reaction, but such scientific achievements are incredible even when the steps are small.

There is still much research to be done in being able to bring a nuclear reaction to the point of ignition where it could run on its own accord, but the experiment brings us that much closer.

[NPR]

Edited February 12, 2014 by Blue

[DaveofDefeat]

Scientists have generated more energy output than the input

it was able to generate 17.3 kilojoules... A far cry from the amount of energy put in to initiate the reaction

Wut?

[Klingon Admiral]

Isn't this news already several months old?

[sal_vager]

It was re-reported today, I think the difference is that they've figured out how to compress the fuel now, but they still lose too much power from the lasers (99%) for this to be any use for generating power.

[Kryten]

Isn't this news already several months old?

The initial reports about this are from october, what's new is a proper peer-reviewed paper on the results. Well, as proper as you can get in Nature anyway.

[Idobox]

also, scientists have been able to reach breakeven in 51, with the first thermonuclear bombs.

Laser facilities are not really built to study energy generation, but bomb design. The fact that it might help with fusion power is just an happy coincidence.

[TheGatesofLogic]

yes, but in energy generating scenarios using fission triggers is a big no no since the only method of triggering fusion that way is super-critical detonation, which is a long way from being controlled. This is remarkable in the sense that the fusion reaction was both totally contained and also released enough energy to power another reaction if all was collected and then all of it was returned to another pellet at 100% efficiency. This might not seem like much, but it's a BIG step forward.

[Idobox]

I'm not saying we should use Teller-Ulam bombs for power generation, but that when people talk of breakeven fusion, they usually omit to say they mean in a small scale, controlled manner.

Breakeven fusion is otherwise relatively easy to attain.

By the way, what happened to Z-pinch machines? they used to be a big thing in fusion research.

[Nuke]

so whats the plan for making the 1% efficiency of the laser closer to 100%. are we going to need to wait 50 years for a laser that can handle the efficiency requirements of a power reactor?

[Blue]

Scientists have generated more energy output than the input

it was able to generate 17.3 kilojoules... A far cry from the amount of energy put in to initiate the reaction

Wut?

It would take a huge amount of power to run the lasers, but the amount of energy released from the reaction was slightly more-- though not [yet] enough to justify the process of generation on an industrial scale.

[peadar1987]

Inertial Confinement Fusion is nowhere near ready for industrial applications yet.

One thing these overly-optimistic articles tend to gloss over is the fact that in order to produce any reasonable amount of power, they would have to ignite several hundred of these pellets every second. The lasers they use are lucky if they can fire once per day without their lenses permanently warping from the heat.

I think ICF is a great technology, and one day will probably be the dominant fusion source, but this milestone is a very, very early one on the road to a proper fusion reactor.

[Seret]

so whats the plan for making the 1% efficiency of the laser closer to 100%. are we going to need to wait 50 years for a laser that can handle the efficiency requirements of a power reactor?

They can switch to a different type of laser that should get that up to about 10%, with maybe a few more percent in the pipeline. So they need to get a lot more bang out of the fuel than they are getting currently.

Edited February 13, 2014 by Seret

[Kryten]

It's not just the laser, they also need to ignore energy produced by the lasers but which doesn't enter the fuel to get the 'breakeven' result.

[Nuke]

does such a laser currently exist or would it need to be developed?

i figure some of the waste heat from the laser would get recovered along with the heat from the fusion reaction. of course what comes out of the power station from that needs to be enough to fire off the next shot. i like to point my finger at the laser because it sounds like the least efficient part of the whole concept. not to mention that laser technology has historically been slow to develop. i dont see this as a system that can beat iter/demo to the punch.

Edited February 13, 2014 by Nuke

[Seret]

does such a laser currently exist or would it need to be developed?

Diode-pumped solid-state lasers apparently. I don't know much about lasers, but they sound pretty widely used.

[peadar1987]

Diode-pumped solid-state lasers apparently. I don't know much about lasers, but they sound pretty widely used.

That's it.

Diodes can produce a much narrower band of frequencies than a flashlamp, and therefore less of the input energy is wasted. Waste means heat, and heat means a lower rate of fire. Basically to work a laser, you shine a light on it, any photons of the right frequency cause the gain medium to become energised, but it will eventually drop down to its ground state. A laser uses a "resonance cavity" to trap photons going the right direction, while letting those going in other directions escape. The really nifty thing is that a photon going in the right direction can trigger the drop to the ground state, resulting in a photon with identical phase and energy to the photon that caused it (The "stimulated emission" part of laSEr). This results in massive positive feedback, and you get a very intense beam of coherent light, your laser beam.

Needless to say, if the only frequencies you are pumping into the laser are the ones you need to actually make your beam, the system is going to waste a heck of a lot less energy.

[Aghanim]

So you need a laser powered by another laser... wait what? Why? Why we didn't just use the pump laser directly?

[Nuke]

lasers need to be pumped with energy to work. this energy is usually in the form of light or heat. diode lasers tend to be really efficient so it makes sense to use them as an energy source to feed a larger laser. especially since you can connect an array of low power diodes to fiber optic cable, melt the end together and deliver a lot of energy to a small area. enough to pump a bigger laser.

Edited February 14, 2014 by Nuke

[Tex]

I find it simply astounding that what these scientists have done has been done now.

Also, just to clear up the situation: They DID produce more energy than went into the reaction itself, but this contributing energy was only 1% of the total used. So you could say that about ~99-98% was not made up for, but they got back more than they put in, yes.

[sal_vager]

But at about 1% efficiency it's kinda useless.

Doesn't mean it won't get better eventually though

[Dodgey]

My understanding of it is that the majority of the power is wasted simply because only about one percent of the laser beam comes into contact with the hydrogen. Better focusing could increase the efficency as far as I know.

[Seventy third]

But at about 1% efficiency it's kinda useless.

Doesn't mean it won't get better eventually though

OPTIMISM! I do hope for the best as well though

[Seventy third]

OPTIMISM! I foresee fusion reactors in our future, either that or we all go the way of Venus...

[Nuke]

optimism:

fusion will become available sooner than expected, unfortunately the first reactors will be installed as part of the american war machine before being built and sold for domestic and international use.

polywells <3

[Dodgey]

I take it you guys saw the article about the 13 year old I think who achieved fusion?

Edited March 7, 2014 by Dodgey