Fusion Ignition Confirmed for the First Time

Ignition confirmed in a nuclear fusion experiment for the first time

Atominator and upstart write:

A 2021 experiment achieved the landmark milestone of nuclear fusion ignition, which data analysis has now confirmed - but attempts to recreate it over the last year haven't been able to reach ignition again.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2333346-ignition-confirmed-in-a-nuclear-fusion-experiment-for-the-first-time/

Breakthrough in Nuclear Fusion Energy: Ignition Confirmed in Record 1.3 Megajoule Shot

upstart writes:

The research has been published one year after the breakthrough was achieved. Will scientists be able to recreate it?:

Exactly one year later, the scientific results of this record experiment have been published in three peer-reviewed papers: one in Physical Review Letters and two in Physical Review E, according to a press release by LLNL.

"The record shot was a major scientific advance in fusion research, which establishes that fusion ignition in the lab is possible at NIF," said Omar Hurricane, chief scientist for LLNL's inertial confinement fusion program.

"Achieving the conditions needed for ignition has been a long-standing goal for all inertial confinement fusion research and opens access to a new experimental regime where alpha-particle self-heating outstrips all the cooling mechanisms in the fusion plasma."

[...] Since their success last August, the researchers have been trying to recreate the record-breaking performance in order to understand its experimental sensitivities.

[...] While the researchers have not been able to recreate the same level of fusion yield as the August 2021 experiment, all of them have showcased capsule gain greater than unity with yields in the 430-700 kJ range, significantly higher than the previous highest yield of 170 kJ from February 2021.

"It is extremely exciting to have an 'existence proof' of ignition in the lab," Hurricane concluded. "We're operating in a regime that no researchers have accessed since the end of nuclear testing, and it's an incredible opportunity to expand our knowledge as we continue to make progress."

Previously: Finally, a Fusion Reaction Has Generated More Energy Than Absorbed by the Fuel

Original Submission #1 Original Submission #2 Original Submission #3

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