Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Achieved By US Scientists

U.S. scientists achieved "ignition" through a milestone nuclear fusion, which is believed to be a major breakthrough in the goal of a nearly limitless source of clean energy, Energy Department officials announced in a press conference Tuesday (December 13) morning via CNN.

Nuclear fusion, which is defined as a reaction that occurs when two or more atomic nuclei combined to form one or more different atomic nuclei and subatomic particles and powers the sun and other stars, was achieved by a team at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility equipped with 192 lasers.

Scientists have long chased the promise of fusion but hadn't previously produced a reaction that resulted in net energy gain.

U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm called the achievement a "milestone" that would bring the world closer to achieving "zero carbon abundant fusion energy."

"Ignition allows us to replicate for the first time certain conditions that are only found in the stars and sun. This milestone moves us one significant step closer to the possibility of zero carbon abundant fusion energy powering our society," Granholm said via CNN.

“This is what it looks like for America to lead, and we’re just getting started," she added. “If we can advance fusion energy, we could use it to produce clean electricity, transportation fuels, power, heavy industry and so much more.”

Dr. Kim Budil, the director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility, called the discovery “one of the most significant scientific challenges ever tackled by humanity” while crediting the lab's scientists on Tuesday.

“Achieving it is a triumph of science, engineering, and most of all, people,” Budil said in a statement obtained by CNN. “Crossing this threshold is the vision that has driven 60 years of dedicated pursuit. These are the problems that the U.S. national laboratories were created to solve.”