Experts in the United States are very serious about obtaining nuclear fusion, a method of obtaining energy that would dwarf the output of all others. The National Ignition Facility was designed for this very purpose, and work there is progressing fast. The issue with this endeavor is that experts want to obtain controlled fusion, as in not of the type that results when a hydrogen bomb explodes. Physicists are turning their eyes to the Sun for inspiration.
At the meeting of the American Physical Society, which will take place next week, NIG investigators will detail the progress made at the facility, which houses the most powerful laser in the world.
NIF is located at the US Department of Energy's (DOE) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), in California.
“It’s no secret that fossil fuels are diminishing and we have to find alternatives,” says NIF spokeswoman Lynda Seaver.
“Wind and solar probably won’t be enough to sustain our needs. Fusion will have to be a part of the energy mix in the future,” she adds, saying that the entire world would benefit if the facility succeeds.
Nuclear fusion works by fusing together deuterium and tritium – two hydrogen isotopes. The reaction forms helium, which can be used for other applications such as rocket fuel, and emits a vast amount of energy.
The main technique used at the Facility is called inertial confinement fusion. A giant laser zaps a small chamber containing the two isotopes, and crushes them into each other.
One of the most remarkable things about fusion is that it releases more energy than is put in to jump-start it. Additionally, no radioactive wastes are produced as a result.
Statistically speaking, the amount of deuterium that fits in a glass of water could cover an person's electricity needs for an entire lifetime.
At this point, the main reactor chamber at NIF is only filled with test pellets, but researchers will start adding in real fuel pellets next year, in hopes of finally attaining controlled fusion.
“If it succeeds, it’s a huge scientific advance. We have never gotten net energy from fusion on Earth, but it’s hardly the whole story. It’s the very first chapter of the story,” says University of Wisconsin in Madison nuclear engineer Greg Moses.
Seaver adds that the reaction could be obtained by 2012-2013, if all goes well. Further government support at that time will most likely allow for the construction of a test facility by 2020.
If this stage of the plan succeeds as well, then the world could see commercial fusion power coming online by no later than 2030, say researchers at the
Northwestern University.
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