Dr Nick Hawker, co-founder and CEO of UK-based First Light Fusion, whichsuccess with projectile fusion in April, welcomed word of the LLNL's inertial fusion success.
"If confirmed, this result is a watershed moment for inertial fusion as a power generation technology," said Hawker in."Target gain has long been the measure of success, the objective that shows the core physics has been cracked." Hawker said it's long been known from underground tests that high-gain inertial fusion works. The LLNL result, he said, shows a clear, reduced risk path from established physics to power production."Before people get too excited about [the] nuclear fusion announcement, Q>1 was anticipated long ago," said Michael E. Mann, professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania, said"Economic viability probably requires Q~10.
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