U.S. government scientists said on Wednesday they have taken an important step in the long trek toward making nuclear fusion — the very process that powers stars — a viable energy source for humankind.
Using the world's largest laser, the researchers coaxed fusion fuel for the first time to heat itself beyond the heat they zapped into it, achieving a phenomenon called a burning plasma that marked a stride toward self-sustaining fusion energy.
The energy produced was modest — about the equivalent of nine 9-volt batteries of the kind that power smoke detectors and other small devices. But the experiments at a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory facility in California represented a milestone in the decadeslong quest to harness fusion energy, even as the researchers cautioned that years of more work are needed.
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