National Ignition Facility Attains Record Energies Through Fusion Reaction

Energies from fusion reactions is one thing that is capable of changing the world. Recent reports suggest that scientists working towards this aim might have got a bit closer to what can be termed as a big breakthrough. The experiments conducted by researchers at NIF (National Ignition Facility) have been successful in generating amount of energy that is higher than that deposited in the fuel used. The process relied on the fusion of deuterium-tritium fuel. The process started with high power lasers hitting inner walls of a golden cylinder that contained a spherical capsule. This Collision generated X-rays. The generated radiations then heated up the capsule, compressing the deuterium-tritium fuel at the center. The #-Link-Snipped-# published in the online journal, #-Link-Snipped-#, indicates the success of 'bootstrapping', which is required to accelerate the fusion process of the fuel used.



Researchers at NIF were excited to observe that alpha-particles and helium nuclei produced in the process deposited their energy back to deuterium-tritium fuel instead of escaping, paving the way for bootstrapping. Omar Hurrican, the lead author terms the yield coming from bootstrapping as 'alpha-particle heating' which can be increased by pushing the implosion harder. It should be noted that to meet the ultimate expectation, it is important to take yields to the ignition-levels.

Although the researchers are 'many-such-experiments' away before meeting the eventual goals, this development is seen to be a major step towards energy generation from controlled fusion reactions.

Via: #-Link-Snipped-#
Source: #-Link-Snipped-#