Researchers at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Livermore, California have reproduced a crucial fusion ignition experiment that saw more energy produced from a hydrogen fusion reaction than what was used to start the reaction in the first place. Although the research team is still crunching the numbers, they sayread more
On August 8, 2021, researchers at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in Livermore, California succeeded in initiating nuclear ignition in a small capsule of heavy hydrogen isotopes, proving that the fusion process could be started by using powerful lasers; now, hot on the heels of last year’s breakthrough, researchers at the sameread more
On November 24, the Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research fusion reactor (KSTAR) set a new operating record, running at over a million degrees Celsius for twenty seconds. While this might seem like a less-than-useful amount of time to have run the high-tech facility at peak temperature, this 20-second uptime is more thanread more
Defense contractor Lockheed Martin was recently awarded a patent for a novel design of compact nuclear fusion reactor, a device presumably small enough to be housed in a standard shipping container. According to earlier promotional material released by the company, the reactor’s compact design could be used not only for commercial energy-generating applications, but also incorporated into ocean-going ships and aircraft to vastly extend the vehicles’ ranges. In terms of generating electricity for commercial use, the device could also be used to replace not only nuclear waste-producing fission reactors, but also fossil fuel-based electrical generators, dramatically reducing the carbon footprint of our civilization’s thirst for energy.
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