National ignition system
A team from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the United States pulled off a feat in nuclear fusion experiments early December 5: The output of nuclear fusion reactions is greater than the energy input. This experiment was conducted by the AmericanNational ignition system(National Ignition Facility), using 192 high-energy lasers, uniformly hitting a central cylinder of fuel with a size of a few centimeters from all directions, and relying on the powerful energy at this time, the “deuterium-tritium” fuel in the center of the fuel cylinder is electrically charged, slurry and undergoes nuclear fusion to generate power.
A total of 2.05 MJ of energy from the ignition system reaches the fuel ball and the fuel ball produces an energy output of 3.15 MJ after ignition. In absolute terms, this is only equivalent to the energy contained in 680g of TNT, but the net energy production alone is quite an achievement. The National Ignition Facility was actually activated in August last year.Increased output ratio to 71%it is evident that considerable progress has been made in the last year.
However, it should be mentioned that 2.05 MJ is just the energy from the laser “getting” to the fuel cylinder. The total energy input into the laser generating system prior to this is about ten times this, but is lost in the process , electrically. Various methods such as slurry and experimental bulkhead heating have been lost. Therefore, there is still a long way to go to achieve system-wide net output.
But even so, the net nuclear fusion output achieved by the NIF is undoubtedly a blow in the arm for the nuclear fusion community, which has long been filled with pessimism. Of course, it’s not yet known whether laser compression ignition technology can generate power continuously and on a large scale, so it’s hard to say whether it can be scaled up to the size of a power plant. However, at the same time, the ITER nuclear fusion reaction with a completely different technology is under construction on the European side and is currently expected to be used for the first time in 2025. If ITER’s magnetically confined plasma technology proves feasible, there are two possible avenues for commercial merger.
At the press conference where the results were released, NIF experts expressed optimism for the first time that nuclear fusion is no longer a technology that will never be realized “50 years later”. After having an empirical basis, government and private units are more likely to invest more funds to develop practical nuclear fusion technology and accelerate the development of nuclear fusion. Perhaps it is still possible to see producers of nuclear fusion energy transform themselves in their lifetime!
