Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough at NIF BBC Reports

Sherman123 said:

I sympathize but wouldn't this be classified as a scientific achievement due to it's experimental nature and its ability to act as a proof of scientific concept?

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A concept of fusion doesn't need to be proven... we've done that ages ago.

poweRob said:

Good luck. I'm a big green sustainability nut... And I get tired of "oh this coming down the road is sooooo close..." articles that I'm kind of numb to them.

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Yeah, I mean if this does eventually pan out to be energy positive at a cost even remotely competitive with current power sources, that's basically the game right there. But that's still a big if.

Deuce said:

A concept of fusion doesn't need to be proven... we've done that ages ago.

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I wasn't referring to fusion I was referring to the controlled replication of it which has require the enormous application of scientific resources over the years.

Sherman123 said:

Th
e BBC is reporting that sometime in
late September an experiment was conducted at the Nuclear Ignition Facility (NIF) in which: The BBC understands that during an experiment in late September, the amount of energy released through the fusion reaction exceeded the amount of energy being absorbed by the fuel - the first time this had been achieved at any fusion facility in the world. This is a step short of the lab's stated goal of "ignition", where nuclear fusion generates as much energy as the lasers supply. This is because known "inefficiencies" in different parts of the system mean not all the energy supplied through the laser is delivered to the fuel. But the latest achievement has been described as the single most meaningful step for fusion in recent years, and demonstrates NIF is well on its way towards the coveted target of ignition and self-sustaining fusion.

Wow. That is amazing to hear. I remember reading articles about their confidence in the upcoming experiments back in July and August, and the guys at NIF have gotten a ton of flack for their cockiness in the past. But wow.

BBC News - Nuclear fusion milestone passed at US lab

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Lockheed Martin has been one of my customers for going on 10 years now and after reading an article about a fusion reactor they were working on, that could be loaded onto the back of a low boy trailer, I decided to ask around.

I know a few engineers there. I didn't get a "NO", but they did'nt deny it either.

Fusion power is still a long ways off but I think eventually it will be a cheap and effective and sustainable power source.

The European reactor is the only one that's being advertized.

I promise the US and other Countries have been working towards a fusion reactor for decades

Sherman123 said:

The BBC is reporting that sometime in late September an experiment was conducted at the Nuclear Ignition Facility (NIF) in which: The BBC understands that during an experiment in late September, the amount of energy released through the fusion reaction exceeded the amount of energy being absorbed by the fuel - the first time this had been achieved at any fusion facility in the world. This is a step short of the lab's stated goal of "ignition", where nuclear fusion generates as much energy as the lasers supply. This is because known "inefficiencies" in different parts of the system mean not all the energy supplied through the laser is delivered to the fuel. But the latest achievement has been described as the single most meaningful step for fusion in recent years, and demonstrates NIF is well on its way towards the coveted target of ignition and self-sustaining fusion.

Wow. That is amazing to hear. I remember reading articles about their confidence in the upcoming experiments back in July and August, and the guys at NIF have gotten a ton of flack for their cockiness in the past. But wow.

BBC News - Nuclear fusion milestone passed at US lab

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That's pretty cool. Thanks for sharing. :thumbs:

Attaining a sustainable fusion reaction and harnessing it for use is arguably the world scientific community's "holy grail" right now. "Cool" stuff!

Sherman123 said:

I sympathize but wouldn't this be classified as a scientific achievement due to it's experimental nature and its ability to act as a proof of scientific concept?

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I agree they overlap. The article seems to be mostly about the gadget. Which would make it more of a technological advancement, In my humble opinion.