At 1:03am on Monday 5 December, the most powerful laser on the planet flashed into life at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, in an experiment that sent shockwaves through the world of physics and beyond.
The laser targeted a fuel capsule, the size of a peppercorn, creating temperatures and pressures which sparked a fusion reaction – the reaction which powers the sun.
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) had done such experiments before, but this time the energy that came out of the reaction, was more than the laser power used to trigger it.
It was a landmark moment for fusion researchers and, while fusion reactors are still a long way from making electricity that we can use, it shows that the physics works.
“We have taken the first tentative steps towards a clean energy source that could revolutionise the world,” said LLNL Director Kim Budil.
The promise of a working fusion reactor is dazzling. It would need relatively small amounts of fuel, would not produce any greenhouse gases and would leave very little of the radioactive waste that makes current nuclear reactors so unpopular.
Fusion Profusion
The success at NIF will spur on the dozens of private companies which one day hope to build a commercial fusion reactor.
One private project in the UK is hoping for a big year in 2023. First Light Fusion, based just outside Oxford, has a novel way of creating fusion conditions.
It fires a small aluminium disc, at speeds of up to 20km per second, at a specially designed target containing the fuel needed for fusion.
On impact that target collapses creating huge pressure waves that can spark a fusion reaction.
Earlier this year, in a huge moment for the company, First Light confirmed that it had achieved fusion using this method.
In 2023 the team will start work on Machine 4, a much bigger reactor, which it hopes will also break the magic barrier in fusion – getting more energy out than was put in.
First Light is in a race with dozens of other firms trying to make fusion happen, but its founder is confident his firm is on the right track.
“I believe 2023 will be the year we make a significant strategic shift, from what has been essentially a very complex, important experiment, to making very real advances towards commercial fusion energy,” says Nick Hawker, founder of First Light Fusion.
Meanwhile, back in the US, another significant announcement in the fusion world should come in early 2023.
The US government will announce which private company will receive $50m (£40m) of funding to build a pilot fusion plant. The goal will be to have a working reactor by the early 2030s.
The future of flying?
Imagine an aircraft that can take off and land like a helicopter, but without the noise, expense and emissions.
That’s the vision of firms developing so-called eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle) aircraft.
Designed for relatively short journeys and a handful of passengers, dozens of firms around the world are betting there is a market for them.
They argue that the eVTOL aircraft can reduce the cost of flying, as their electric motors are cheaper to run and maintain than helicopter engines.
Added to that, they ague their aircraft are quiet and emissions-free.
Bristol-based Vertical Aerospace is one firm hoping to be a player in this new industry.
Source: Tech trends 2023: Flying taxis and satellite phones – BBC News