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Get excited... press conference from @ENERGY on fusion results from the US National Ignition Facility @lasers_llnl on Tuesday with a potentially HUGE #nuclearfusion announcement: FT reporting that NIF has hit scientific net energy gain!
on.ft.com/3PgDdya #TheStarBuilders
on.ft.com/3PgDdya #TheStarBuilders
Rumours have been circulating that this is what happened but I understand no official confirmation as yet—but numbers might be as much as 120% of net energy gain.
If this is true, we are witnessing a moment of history: controlling the power source of the stars is the greatest..
If this is true, we are witnessing a moment of history: controlling the power source of the stars is the greatest..
technological challenge humanity has ever undertaken. Scientists have struggled to show that fusion can release more energy out than is put in since the 1950s, and the researchers at Lawrence Livermore seem to have finally and absolutely smashed this decades-old goal. This...
Nuclear fusion is much closer than you think!
A short 🧵👇🏾
(You can find pretty much everything in this thread in #thestarbuilders book: aeturrell.com/#writing)
A short 🧵👇🏾
(You can find pretty much everything in this thread in #thestarbuilders book: aeturrell.com/#writing)
First, what is nuclear fusion? It's a reaction that literally creates new atoms from old: lighter nuclei (say types of hydrogen) are smashed together to make heavier nuclei—and LOTS of energy. And the energy comes from an equation you already know! (Yes the one by Einstein) 
You should care about fusion: apart from being the reaction that makes the Universe light up (powering stars) and the reaction that created most of the elements we're made of, fusion promises clean, safe, low radioactivity energy for everyone—and wow do we need more clean energy
#BREAKING #fusion #news: The National Ignition Facility (@LLnL) has reported a *twenty-five times* increase in energy released as compared to their 2018 world record for laser fusion: 1.3 MJ out for 1.92 MJ in, a 67.7% gain in energy!! 🤯
llnl.gov/news/national-…
#TheStarBuilders
llnl.gov/news/national-…
#TheStarBuilders
This is MASSIVE. It’s so close to energy breakeven that it’s now almost inevitable that NIF will make history and be the first to hit 100%, showing that #fusion is not just a power source for the stars, but that it *could* work on Earth too. Here I am touring the NIF with Bruno:
I’ve long rated the chances of NIF of getting there 1st, simply because they have a machine that—in principle—has the size and science to do it right now. (I give serious love & attention to this giant laser & the people behind it in #TheStarBuilders)
People think a *net energy gain* nuclear fusion experiment is a long way off (as far as the Sun, the nearest fusion reactor). Researching #TheStarBuilders, I discovered extraordinary progress... hold on to your seats for a 🧵on fusion #physics and advances in #fusionenergy! 1/n
What's net energy? It's putting 1 unit of energy into a fusion machine & getting *more* than 1 unit out. Breakeven in energy = same out as was put in. Scientists refer to percentages: 100% for breakeven, >100% for net energy gain. Gain is like a single match lighting a big fire🔥
Why is net energy gain important? It's the first step to developing fusion as a power source. Scientists have been trying since the 1940s, & it’s perhaps the greatest technical challenge humanity has ever taken on. And we *need* cleaner energy.
Now, let’s talk about the advances.
Now, let’s talk about the advances.
