Scientists who made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of nuclear synthesis at the end of last year have yet to replicate their achievement, but they are getting closer.
Last month, a team from the National Laboratory of Lawrence Livermore in California conducted a nuclear synthesis reaction. The reaction, which used the world’s most powerful laser to detonate a tiny diamond capsule filled with hydrogen, produced as much energy as it created. Although this balance fell slightly short of the long-awaited “ignition” point, where the reaction produces more energy than it consumes, it was still a significant milestone.
Nuclear synthesis is the process that powers stars and achieving ignition has been a goal for generations of scientists. On December 5, the Livermore laboratory became the first to achieve energy gain, investing 2.05 megajoules of laser energy and receiving 3.15 megajoules in return.
Since then, the team has conducted eight similar experiments, but has yet to achieve ignition. However, the experiment conducted on June 5 showed a “balance” with 1.87 megajoules of laser energy input and an equal amount of synthesis energy output. According to Richard Town, deputy director of the program, this was the second-highest energy production in any of the laboratory experiments.
With each experiment, the team continues to refine their approach. In the most recent experiment, researchers used a slightly longer pulse from the laser to compress the hydrogen fuel and initiate synthesis, which appears to have improved the energy output. The team is now planning to achieve ignition again later this year.
Richard Town stated, “We are making progress. We haven’t reached the headline-grabbing 3 megajoules or more yet, but with each experiment, we are learning valuable lessons.”
Traditional nuclear power plants rely on nuclear fission, the splitting of atoms, whereas synthesis involves combining atoms. Theoretically, synthesis could provide a source of energy without the production of nuclear waste, such as the spent fuel rods from current nuclear reactors.