UK Breaks Fusion Energy World Record In Breakthrough That Can Change The World

Scientists are now a step closer to producing energy through nuclear fusion. European scientists have made a major breakthrough in the development of practical nuclear fusion, the energy process that powers all stars in the universe.

On Wednesday, UK-based JET laboratory broke its own world record for the amount of energy that may be extracted from two forms of hydrogen. In simpler words, they created a mini star inside a machine that was able to stay in place for five seconds, offering a glimpse into all that is possible.

Nuclear fusion facility/ UKAEA

What does this mean?

If nuclear fusion is successfully replicated on Earth, we may finally be closer to producing unlimited supply of low-carbon energy. During the experiment, scientists were able to produce 59 megajoules of energy in five seconds - that's about 11 megawatts of power... more than double than what similar tests achieved in 1997.

While this may not be a massive energy output, it does set the stage for similar victories in terms of design choices for a bigger fusion reactor in France.

Representational Image: Getty Images

If nuclear fusion starts powering all our plants in the near future, no greenhouse gases would be produced and we would have to deal with only short-lived radioactive waste.

Also read: MIT Engineers Build World's Strongest Magnet For Generating Clean Fusion Energy

France's upcoming ITER facility is supported by an international community (EU states, the US, China, and Russia) in hopes of making stable nuclear fusion a reality to power Earth.

Current nuclear power stations depend on fission instead of fusion. The latter works to release energy by forcing atomic nuclei together instead of splitting them. The same process happens in the core of our Sun too - at temperatures of roughly 10 million Celsius. On Earth, we need temperatures as hot as 100 million Celsius owing to lower pressures possible on our planet.

Uncredited

Also read: US Scientists Achieve Major Breakthrough In Developing Clean Energy Using Nuclear Fusion

However exciting this may be, it seems unlikely that we will see global nuclear fusion-based energy adoption in the next few decades, meaning climate change is still a very real and dangerous threat.

What do you think about this fantastic feat? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

References

Phys.org. (2022, February 9). Fusion facility sets a new world energy record. Phys.Org.

Amos, J. (2022, February 9). Major breakthrough on nuclear fusion energy. BBC News.