Understanding the fusion energy breakthrough announced by the U.S.

U.S. government officials announced on December 13 that a federal facility had achieved a significant milestone in nuclear fusion research, to much fanfare. Officials said that the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California, had conducted a fusion test on December 5 that produced 153% as much energy as went into triggering it. “The recent results from the NIF are a major achievement on the road to fusion energy,” Matthew Zepf, professor at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena and a director of the Helmholtz Institute Jena, said. And “even if one were to achieve high gain,” Mr. Deshpande continued, “questions about how often one can repeat the pulse, to get sustained power, and couple a higher fraction of the initial energy investment will be crucial in future.” Third: The road to a power plant from the NIF’s current achievement isn’t well-understood. U.S. government officials announced on December 13 that a federal facility had achieved a significant milestone in nuclear fusion research Officials said that the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California, had conducted a fusion test on December 5 that produced 153% as much energy as went into triggering it.