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Nuclear energy research gives hope - 16th January 2023

Scientists have made a major breakthrough in developing nuclear fusion, after nearly a century of research. The experiment could result in an endless supply of clean energy.

When National Ignition Facility researchers in California shot lasers at a small fuel capsule, the 2.05 megajoules of heat caused hydrogen atoms to fuse together, creating 3.15 megajoules of energy. That's a 50 percent increase, meaning that the fused atoms released more energy than scientists actually used in the process.

Nuclear fusion for energy creation has been a long-term dream for scientists. Instead of breaking apart atoms, fusion puts atoms together. Even though scientists have fused atoms in the past, the process always spent more energy than it gave off. White House official Dr Arati Prabhakar said, 'This is such a tremendous example of what perseverance really can achieve.'

Today's nuclear power plants use fission, or the splitting of atoms but nuclear fission's key disadvantage is that it releases toxic waste which must be buried underground or shot up into space. Nuclear fusion, on the other hand, does not release waste or greenhouse gases. It could be science's solution to climate change, though physicists warn people should be realistic.

'In some senses everything changes; in another, nothing changes,' said Justin Wark, professor of physics at the University of Oxford, who explained that to make it commercial, there would be enormous barriers.

The experiment's lasers need around 300 megajoules of energy to heat up before firing, and they only fire once per day. In contrast, for a commercial reactor, lasers would need to fire 10 times per second.

Dr Mark Wenman, a specialist in nuclear materials at Imperial College London, declared the achievement was a 'fantastic scientific breakthrough – something we have not achieved in 70 years of trying,' but admitted 'challenges remain'.

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