Laser-driven inertial fusion energy is one of the most promising approaches for the sustainable generation of electrical power. Researchers involved in the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have used 192 laser beams to compress a tiny fuel pellet less than half the diameter of a human hair in such a way that for the first time ever it triggered the net release of energy by nuclear fusion, i.e. higher energy production compared to the absorbed energy by the pellet. The NIF result comes at the right time and is of key importance for the future of the HiLASE project.
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