Researchers at the OMEGA Laser Facility at the University of Rochester in New York improved the fusion yield by a factor of three compared with OMEGA’s previous record. The OMEGA facility focuses 60 high-power laser beams are directed onto a millimeter-sized capsule that contains fusion fuel. The intense light produces large pressures, imploding the fuel at high velocities.
Nature – Tripled yield in direct-drive laser fusion through statistical modelling
A statistical approach was used to design and quantitatively predict the results of implosions of solid deuterium–tritium targets carried out with the 30-kilojoule OMEGA laser system. They achieved a tripling of the fusion yield to its highest value so far for direct-drive laser fusion. If this work scales to 63 times the power level then it would be at the power level of the National Ignition Facility. The National Ignition Facility can place 1.9 megajoules onto a fusion target. The OMEGA facility scaled result reproduced on the National Ignition Facility would produce fusion energy output of about 500 kilojoules. This would be several times larger than the fusion yields currently achieved at that facility.
This would only be 25% of the breakeven for plasma breakeven.
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory could produce 1,000 times more fusion reactions than the recent OMEGA laser experiments.
Researchers will perform two years of experiments on OMEGA using the same asymmetric laser configuration as the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in preparations for scaled-up power tests.
SOURCES- Nature, OMEGA Laser Facility
Written By Brian Wang
Brian Wang is a Futurist Thought Leader and a popular Science blogger with 1 million readers per month. His blog Nextbigfuture.com is ranked #1 Science News Blog. It covers many disruptive technology and trends including Space, Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Medicine, Anti-aging Biotechnology, and Nanotechnology.
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He be much smart man. Telling it like it is. Not hate if it true.
It is worthwhile to point out the flaw in the statistics. China counts New Energy Vehicles (NEV). This includes ALL plug-ins, hybrids, BEV, cars AND buses. About 300k of the 1.2m are buses, and about 75% of the 900k cars are BEV. Remember, China sells about 25 million cars a year. With the plateauing of car sales in general and a tightening of the NEV subsidies, I can’t fathom why the NEV growth phenomena will continue.
Bear in mind it is winter in China. An EV in sub-zero is useless. You see stranded EV’s all the time around Beijing/Shanghai, can’t even make it up the on-ramps.
Hate much?
Elon is in a big hurry to go bankrupt. China is the armpit of the universe, stinking toxic waste dump. A fitting end. But he should sell all rights to SpaceX so that company does not go down with the mad toker.
Don’t forget that you bypass all those annoying environmental regs too.
Silicon Valley 101. Design in US, have Chinese slave labor build it. You don’t have to worry about all those pesky labor laws.
Apple figured that one out over a decade ago.
Yeah, forget the tent the slowing sales, let the numbers roll and jump again, as in the last five year plan…