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Dr Hurricane unleashes FUSION POWER


knocker

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Posted
  • Location: Camborne
  • Location: Camborne

 

Scientists in California have made a major breakthrough in fusion power research, but the path to unlimited clean energy remains long and difficult.

 

The scientists described the significant result – which was recorded last year at the National Ignition Facility in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory – in a paper published in Nature on Wednesday.

 

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/02/13/fusion_lawrence_livermore/

 

 

Ignition is needed to make fusion energy a viable alternative energy source, but has yet to be achieved1. A key step on the way to ignition is to have the energy generated through fusion reactions in an inertially confined fusion plasma exceed the amount of energy deposited into the deuterium–tritium fusion fuel and hotspot during the implosion process, resulting in a fuel gain greater than unity. Here we report the achievement of fusion fuel gains exceeding unity on the US National Ignition Facility using a ‘high-foot’ implosion method2, 3, which is a manipulation of the laser pulse shape in a way that reduces instability in the implosion. These experiments show an order-of-magnitude improvement in yield performance over past deuterium–tritium implosion experiments. We also see a significant contribution to the yield from α-particle self-heating and evidence for the ‘bootstrapping’ required to accelerate the deuterium–tritium fusion burn to eventually ‘run away’ and ignite.

 

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature13008.html

Edited by knocker
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Posted
  • Location: Near King's Lynn 13.68m ASL
  • Weather Preferences: Hoar Frost, Snow, Misty Autumn mornings
  • Location: Near King's Lynn 13.68m ASL

Like the thread title. Posted Image

 

This has to be the way forward, but it always seems like we are 30 years away. 

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