Researchers at First Light Fusion designed the method to be as simple as possible, and a viable alternative to the donut-shaped reactors called Tokama

Engineers Make Fusion Breakthrough by Shooting Projectile at 14,500 MPH

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2022-05-20 19:00:05

Researchers at First Light Fusion designed the method to be as simple as possible, and a viable alternative to the donut-shaped reactors called Tokamaks that are currently at the forefront of fusion technology.

First Light Fusion's approach to nuclear fusion energy is a type known as inertial fusion, in which a fuel pellet is compressed and heated so fast that particles fuse together in the few nanoseconds before the fuel blows apart.

However, the company is trying a different approach by firing a projectile at it at around 14,500 miles per hour, temporarily producing pressure equivalent to 100 million times that of Earth's atmosphere, higher than the pressure at the center of the planet Jupiter.

In a power plant, the fuel pellet would be dropped into the reactor from above and the projectile would then be fired straight after it.

This allows for just one entrance hole and the use of liquids that help protect the reaction chamber from the huge energy release—an engineering hurdle that other fusion approaches have to overcome.