Discovery paves way for fusion energy

A new development in nuclear energy could pave the way for the ultimate green energy. Researchers in the US have attempted to recreate the conditions that are found at the heart of the sun, which could lead to the development of fusion reactors.

Researchers from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have successfully generated larger amounts of energy than was put into the nuclear fuel. This latest find is an important one when it comes to developing equipment that can harness the power of fusion and result in green and cheap energy.

It is hoped that eventually scientists will be able to develop the technology that will see more energy being created than the process of generation consumes, resulting in a sustainable source of power.

Fusion power could become a game changer in the field of green energy, as it creates minimal amounts of waste and no carbon emissions. Unfortunately, the development of this type of energy generation has been hindered with a large number of technical difficulties. 

Traditional nuclear reactors, which are currently used the world over, work by splitting atoms into lighter particles and thus creating energy. However, within a fusion reactor, the light atomic nuclei are combined into heavier particles.

Researchers at the laboratory are using 192 power lasers to crush a very small amount amount of fuel at an increased rate and with such force that it quickly becomes hotter than the sun. However, they have not successfully created more energy by doing this than the whole experiment uses. So far the fusions, according to the scientists, have created around 17 kilojoules of energy.

The results from this experiment will help future researchers develop a fusion reactor. However, the initial goal of the work is to help the US understand the processes that are going on within their ageing nuclear weapon stockpile. These experiments are helping to verify computer models that have been used instead of nuclear tests, which are now illegal.