Engineers in England have achieved nuclear fusion by firing a giant gun at a fuel sample.
Researchers at First Light Fusion designed the method to be as simple as possible, and a viable alternative to the donut-shaped reactors called Tokamaks that are currently at the forefront of fusion technology.
First Light Fusion’s approach to nuclear fusion energy is a type known as inertial fusion, in which a fuel pellet is compressed and heated so fast that particles fuse together in the few nanoseconds before the fuel blows apart.
Usually, inertial fusion is achieved by focusing an intense laser beam or particle beam at the pellet.
However, the company is trying a different approach by firing a projectile at it at around 14,500 miles per hour, temporarily producing pressure equivalent to 100 million times that of Earth’s atmosphere, higher than the pressure at the center of the planet Jupiter.
Announcement! We are delighted to announce that we have achieved fusion – a world-first with our unique new target technology. The @UKAEAofficial has independently validated our result.
— First Light Fusion (@FLFusion) April 5, 2022
Read the full announcement here: https://t.co/JFRUxbAoCO@FLF_Nick @KwasiKwarteng #fusion pic.twitter.com/OH33gYqZSX
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