US Researchers Report Successful Fusion Reaction
2022-02-03
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1American scientists have announced another step toward producing energy from nuclear fusion.
2U.S. government researchers said they were able to cause a fusion reaction that sustained itself and produced energy for a very short period.
3The scientists said this was an important step because it is very difficult to get fusion to become self-sustaining.
4Fusion requires extremely high temperatures and pressures, and the process can easily stop.
5Fusion happens when the nuclei of two atoms are subjected to extreme heat.
6This leads to the formation of a new, larger atom and the release of energy.
7Fusion is the process that fuels stars, including the sun.
8Some experts have suggested that someday, fusion energy could be used to provide limitless, pollution-free power.
9One barrier to that goal is the fact that the fusion process itself needs a lot of energy.
10Scientists have not yet performed a fusion reaction that releases more energy than it requires.
11Government scientists with the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California carried out the experiments.
12The lab is part of the U.S. Department of Energy.
13The experiments took place in November 2020 and February 2021.
14Research results recently appeared in a study in the publication Nature Physics.
15The state reached in the experiments is called burning plasma.
16Plasma is one of the four main states of matter.
17It contains charged particles including ions and electrons.
18The Department of Energy explains that burning plasma "is one in which most of the plasma heating" comes from fusion reactions.
19Alex Zylstra is an experimental physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
20He helped lead the research. Zylstra told Reuters that the process is similar to trying to start a fire.
21"If you want to make a campfire, you want to get the fire hot enough that the wood can keep itself burning," he said.
22"This is a good analogy for a burning plasma, where the fusion is now starting to become self-sustaining."
23The experiments involved aiming 192 lasers at a small capsule held inside a gold metal container.
24The researchers reported the process heats the capsule to about 100 million degrees Celsius.
25This creates about 50 percent more pressure inside the capsule than what is inside the center of the sun.
26The experiments created burning plasmas that lasted just one trillionth of a second.
27But Zylstra said that was enough to be considered a success.
28He said fusion had produced about 10 times as much energy as went into heating the fuel.
29But it produced less than 10 percent of the total amount of laser energy because the process remains inefficient, Zylstra added.
30The amount of energy produced was far more than in past experiments, the researchers said.
31But it was still small, about the same amount that is contained in nine-volt batteries.
32Earlier experiments in the U.S. and Britain succeeded in fusing atoms, but produced no self-heating, Steven Cowley told The Associated Press.
33He directs the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in New Jersey but did not take part in the study.
34Zylstra said making fusion remains a huge and "complex technological challenge."
35It will require serious investments and many years of study before it can be considered a realistic form of energy production, he added.
36I'm Bryan Lynn.
1American scientists have announced another step toward producing energy from nuclear fusion. 2U.S. government researchers said they were able to cause a fusion reaction that sustained itself and produced energy for a very short period. The scientists said this was an important step because it is very difficult to get fusion to become self-sustaining. Fusion requires extremely high temperatures and pressures, and the process can easily stop. 3Fusion happens when the nuclei of two atoms are subjected to extreme heat. This leads to the formation of a new, larger atom and the release of energy. Fusion is the process that fuels stars, including the sun. Some experts have suggested that someday, fusion energy could be used to provide limitless, pollution-free power. 4One barrier to that goal is the fact that the fusion process itself needs a lot of energy. Scientists have not yet performed a fusion reaction that releases more energy than it requires. 5Government scientists with the National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California carried out the experiments. The lab is part of the U.S. Department of Energy. 6The experiments took place in November 2020 and February 2021. Research results recently appeared in a study in the publication Nature Physics. 7The state reached in the experiments is called burning plasma. Plasma is one of the four main states of matter. It contains charged particles including ions and electrons. The Department of Energy explains that burning plasma "is one in which most of the plasma heating" comes from fusion reactions. 8Alex Zylstra is an experimental physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. He helped lead the research. Zylstra told Reuters that the process is similar to trying to start a fire. 9"If you want to make a campfire, you want to get the fire hot enough that the wood can keep itself burning," he said. "This is a good analogy for a burning plasma, where the fusion is now starting to become self-sustaining." 10The experiments involved aiming 192 lasers at a small capsule held inside a gold metal container. The researchers reported the process heats the capsule to about 100 million degrees Celsius. This creates about 50 percent more pressure inside the capsule than what is inside the center of the sun. 11The experiments created burning plasmas that lasted just one trillionth of a second. But Zylstra said that was enough to be considered a success. He said fusion had produced about 10 times as much energy as went into heating the fuel. But it produced less than 10 percent of the total amount of laser energy because the process remains inefficient, Zylstra added. 12The amount of energy produced was far more than in past experiments, the researchers said. But it was still small, about the same amount that is contained in nine-volt batteries. 13Earlier experiments in the U.S. and Britain succeeded in fusing atoms, but produced no self-heating, Steven Cowley told The Associated Press. He directs the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory in New Jersey but did not take part in the study. 14Zylstra said making fusion remains a huge and "complex technological challenge." It will require serious investments and many years of study before it can be considered a realistic form of energy production, he added. 15I'm Bryan Lynn. 16The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the reports for VOA Learning English. 17_____________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19reaction - n. a change that happens when two substances are put together 20sustain - v. to cause or permit something to continue for a period of time 21nuclei (pl.) (nucleus) -n. (physics) the central part of an atom which contains protons and neutrons 22analogy - n. a comparison that shows how two things are similar 23capsule - n. a small container 24inefficient - adj. not achieving maximum productivity 25battery - n. a device that provides and stores electricity for things 26challenge - n. a difficult task or problem; something that is hard to do 27We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.