What is nuclear fusion

Nuclear fusion is a reaction in which atomic nuclei come together to form a new element, simultaneously producing enormous amounts of energy. This is a cleaner process than nuclear fission, which produces energy (and a significant amount of waste) by splitting atoms. Nuclear fusion is the same reaction that powers stars like our Sun, and scientists have been trying to make this reaction energy efficient on Earth for decades.

We cannot use the power plants we have to provide energy to our homes for now. First of all, they produce very little energy so far. Second, in most cases more energy is spent to start the reaction than is obtained as a result. This means that existing facilities are unprofitable, and the main goal of scientists now is to make the tokamaks (the name given to the plasma containment chamber itself) produce more energy.

If such a goal is achieved, we will have almost unlimited amounts of clean energy. But commercially viable thermonuclear fusion has remained out of our reach for years. Scientists constantly refer to these terms as 20-30 years or even a century. Some even believe that this is actually an unattainable goal because we are taking very small steps that increase energy intake by small amounts.

JET registration

The 69.26 megajoules recently achieved by JET surpasses the facility’s previous record of 59 megajoules and more than triples the original peak fusion power record of 22 megajoules set in 1997.

The latest surge in JET produced 20 times more energy than last year at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Ignition Facility (NIF), albeit through a different process.

JET became operational in 1983 and ceased experimental operation in December 2023; hence the final result was a triumphant finale for a veteran. The installation, which has been operating for over 40 years, has broken many records and seems to have saved the best for last.

“JET’s latest fusion experiment is a fitting farewell to all the groundbreaking work carried out on the project. Thanks to an international team of scientists and engineers in Oxfordshire, we are moving closer to the power of fusion than ever before.”– said Andrew Bowie, UK Minister for Nuclear Energy and Networks.