by Lucas Regal
In December 2022, scientists were able to create nuclear fusion for the first time in a lab setting. This is very exciting for the world as nuclear fusion is potentially a new, efficient, clean energy source.
Nuclear fusion is essentially the same power that comes from the sun, which of course is powerful enough to heat the entire Earth. Scientists were able to replicate this power, which combines hydrogen atoms into helium, producing sunlight and warmth. This was achieved by 192 giant lasers shooting at a small cylinder about the size of a pencil eraser that contained a frozen nubbin of hydrogen encased in diamond.
The impactful part of this experiment is that more energy was produced from the experiment than the amount that went into it, in fact 1.5x the amount was produced. This experiment has been tried many times before, but more energy had gone into it than come out, deeming it useless.
So what does this mean for the future of energy? Nuclear Fusion could potentially be an emissions-free source of power, and would help reduce the need for power plants burning coal and natural gas, which pump billions of tons of planet-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. This means the slowing down or even the eventual solution to Global Warming. That kind of development is about 40-60 years down the line, but this is an incredible achievement for mankind that cannot be understated.
