Nuclear fusion breakthrough a milestone for the future of clean energy, US officials say

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For the first time, US scientists produced more energy from fusion than the laser energy they used to power the experiment, Department of Energy officials announced.

Scientists hope that nuclear fusion could one day replace fossil fuels, aiding in the fight against climate change.

The experiment put in 2.05 megajoules of energy to the target and resulted in 3.15 megajoules of fusion energy output -- generating more than 50% more energy than was put in. It's the first time an experiment resulted in a meaningful gain of energy. Granholm said scientists at Livermore and other national labs do work that will help the US move quickly toward clean energy and maintain a nuclear deterrent without nuclear testing.

Prabhakar reflected on the generations of scientists who got to today's achievement with nuclear fusion. "It took not just one generation but generations of people pursuing this goal," she said. "It's a century since we figured out it was fusion that was going on in our sun and all the other stars. In that century it took so many different kinds of advances that ultimately came together to the point that we could replicate that fusion activity in a laboratory.

 

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not exactly true. read a write-up from a physicist (it looks like they met the *lower* bar of producing more energy than the *laser beam* energy used (but here's the thing; lasers are super inefficient energy-wise; article mentions grid power used).

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