![]() ![]() Open source software has played a key role in paving the way for the ignition breakthrough, and will continue to help push the field forward. Nonetheless, NIF's breakthrough proved that net-positive power generation is possible, and it paves the way for researchers not just at NIF but at other institutions exploring additional fusion methods as well. Researchers will not only need to develop more efficient reactions but do so reliably and at power plant–scale. Even NIF's breakthrough comes with important caveats: The ignition reaction actually took more energy to produce than it created when you take into account the 300 megajoules it took to charge the lasers used in the experiment. But that goal has remained elusive, despite decades of research. Ideally, nuclear fusion could one day provide plentiful, carbon-free energy. For the first time ever, researchers at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) succeeded in creating a controlled nuclear fusion reaction that generated more energy than it took to cause the reaction-an achievement known as "ignition."Ĭontrolled nuclear fusion generates energy by fusing atoms and could be a safer, cleaner alternative to nuclear fission, the method used in modern nuclear power plants, which splits atoms and produces long-lived radioactive waste. Take December 2022's nuclear fusion breakthrough, for instance. The words “nuclear physics” tend to conjure images of heavily guarded laboratories or trench-coated spies whispering to each other on park benches and exchanging briefcases full of file folders stamped “Classified: Top Secret.” But despite this reputation for secrecy, today's nuclear scientists embrace openness. ![]()
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