Researchers at a US lab have passed a crucial milestone on the way to their ultimate goal of achieving self-sustaining nuclear fusion.
Harnessing fusion – the process that powers the Sun – could provide an unlimited and cheap source of energy.
Now, a breakthrough by scientists at the National Ignition Facility could boost hopes of scaling up fusion.
The California facility uses 192 beams from the world’s most powerful laser to heat and compress a small pellet of hydrogen fuel to the point where nuclear fusion reactions create more energy than is needed to force a reaction.
(READ the story from BBC News)