The Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, recently highlighted a significant development in fusion research from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. This announcement took place during a news conference on December 13, 2022.
On December 5, at 1 a.m. local time, researchers accomplished a remarkable feat. They used lasers to target a small pellet of hydrogen fuel. The lasers delivered 2.05 megajoules of energy, and the pellet emitted approximately 3.15 megajoules. This outcome marks a crucial milestone in fusion science, achieving a reaction that produces more energy than it consumes. Fusion technology has pursued this goal for over half a century.
Despite this advancement, the journey to harnessing fusion energy practically and without greenhouse gases remains lengthy. Regina G. Barber covers two NPR stories detailing this experiment’s findings and the steps needed to advance fusion as an energy source.
The episode was edited by Amina Khan, Ally Schweitzer, and Gabriel Spitzer, and produced by Gisele Grayson.
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