Physicists have developed a new method of nuclear fusion using relativistic effects

A team of researchers has demonstrated a new nuclear fusion method for producing clean energy, based on the relativistic effect of ultra-intense laser radiation.

Modern nuclear power uses decayheavy isotopes into lighter elements, but a more efficient and environmentally friendly option is thermonuclear fusion, in which hydrogen isotopes fuse to form more complex helium atoms. The problem is that to initiate such interaction requires extremely hightemperature and pressure, like inside the sun.

A team of scientists led by physicists fromOsaka University has proposed a modified method for inertial confinement of a mixture of deuterium and tritium atoms using double high-precision laser pulses. The second pulse acts as a superpenetrating igniter, because it generates fast electrons in a dense plasma, which heat the nucleus during compression, causing synthesis. In this case, the energy delivery to the fuel bunch provides the relativistic behavior of a high-intensity laser.

According to study participants, the methodologyis effective because the energy released during the merger exceeds the energy expended during the merger. They also say that this technology can be used in other areas of high-energy physics, including medicine.

Previously, we also reported that physicists are one step closer to creating a gamma laser.

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