• This Tuesday, scientists plan to make a significant discovery regarding fusion energy.
• The development of fusion power may have hit a significant milestone thanks to US experts.

According to a Financial Times report, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory may have generated even more energy than was used in a recent experiment, marking a spectacular new high point for fusion processes.

According to the article, researchers are still analysing the data but scientists 'with knowledge of early results from a recent experiment' have shared the findings. On Tuesday, December 13, LLNL is slated to make a significant announcement.

At around 7 a.m. PT, the Department of Energy is anticipated to livestream it. Nearly 200 lasers are fired directly at a tiny hydrogen capsule as part of the 'inertial confinement fusion' experiment carried out at the National Ignition Facility. Nathan Garland, a physicist from Griffith University in Australia, claims that the lasers form a plasma bubble surrounding the capsule that ultimately ignites an implosion, creating the conditions necessary for fusion reactions to occur.

Our sun's fusion reaction, which is powered by the collision of two heavy atoms, produces energy. Extreme heat and pressure are needed for this, but Garland emphasised that simulating the conditions in a lab would be 'very challenging.' Significantly, no carbon is liberated during the tremendous amount of energy that is created when the two atoms combine. 

Contrary to nuclear power plants' use of the fission process, which involves dividing atoms, fusion produces no radioactive waste and carries no threat of meltdown. In other words, fusion power would revolutionise energy if we could harness it and provide clean energy without adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. 

If social media rumours and the FT report are accurate, researchers at LLNL may have achieved 'fusion energy gain,' which is represented by the letter Q. If Q > 1 in a fusion experiment, then we are on the verge of a real energy breakthrough, one that scientists have long hoped to achieve. If accurate, it's a significant problem for sure, Garland added.