by unleashing more energy than was put into it – and subsequent trials have produced even better results, they say. The findings, now published in a series of papers, give encouragement that fusion reactors will one day create clean, plentiful energy.waste involved in fission, but finding a way to contain and control this process, let alone extract energy from it, has eluded scientists and engineers for decades.
Even with the hardware currently installed at NIF, Town says it is likely that yields could be improved, but if the lasers can be upgraded – which would take years – things could be pushed even further. “A bigger hammer always helps,” he says. “If we can get a bigger hammer, I think we could get to target gains of about roughly 10.”
Part of this work involves exposing electronics and payloads from nuclear bombs to the neutron bombardment that takes place when ICF reactions occur, to check that they will function in the event of all-out nuclear war. The danger of an electronics failure was highlighted during a test in 2021 when NIF fired and wiped out all lights across the site, plunging researchers into darkness.
The announcement that ICF had reached the break-even point in 2022 provided hope that fusion power was drawing closer, and this will be bolstered by news that further progress has been made. But there are caveats.