BREAKTHROUGH

U.S. Scientists Come Closer to Nuclear Fusion

Just short of ignition.

Scientists at a California lab announced Tuesday that they had made a major breakthrough in the process of nuclear fusion, the process of harnessing the power of sun to make energy. Scientists at the National Ignition Facility used 192 beams from the world’s most powerful laser to compress a small pellet of hydrogen fuel, causing more fuel to exceed the amount of fuel absorbed. This stopped just short of ignition, where nuclear fusion generates as much fuel as the lasers supply, due to “inefficiencies” in different parts of the system. But that doesn’t mean this latest achievement isn’t a breakthrough in the half-century search for nuclear fusion, which could drastically cut fuel costs.