Groundbreaking Nuclear Fusion Reaction

By: Enzo Bunag ‘25 Contributor

In December 2022, scientists in California made a huge breakthrough. Achieving what has never been achieved before, scientists were able to create a nuclear fusion reaction that produced greater amounts of energy than the amount of energy necessary to start the reaction.

To provide some background information, a nuclear fusion reaction refers to the chemical reactions occurring within the sun, in which two hydrogen atoms fuse together to form a helium atom. This fusion reaction is what provides the extreme amounts of energy from the Sun that help to provide Earth with a climate and temperature adequate for sustaining life. This contrasts with the more wellknown nuclear fission reaction, in which large amounts of often hazardous energy are released through the division of an atom’s nucleus.

This is not the first time scientists have been able to successfully create a nuclear fusion reaction, but the notable thing about this breakthrough is that every nuclear fusion reaction prior always required more energy than it released, causing previous reactions to be inefficient at releasing sufficient amounts of energy. However, this nuclear fusion reaction managed to create more energy than it consumed, making it a milestone in potential uses for nuclear fusion energy.

To create this reaction, scientists in the Lawrenceville Livermore National Lab-