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Taiwan to Research Nuclear Fusion After US Breakthrough

Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council says it will fund research on laser-plasma interactions and magnetically confined high-temperature plasmas, following US discovery


Taiwan plans to research nuclear fusion after US breakthrough, it said on Wednesday.
Laser energy is converted into x-rays inside the hohlraum, which then compress a fuel capsule until it implodes, creating a high temperature, high pressure plasma in this undated image from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory federal research facility in California. Photo: John Jett and Jake Long/LLNL handout via Reuters.

 

Taiwan said on Wednesday it plans to research key nuclear fusion technologies. The announcement came after news emerged that researchers in California had made a major breakthrough in the field.

The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) will provide grants for research teams in the fields of theoretical and experimental studies about laser-plasma interactions and magnetically confined high-temperature plasmas, China News Agency reported, adding that these areas are essential to creating conditions required for nuclear fusion.

The NSTC remarks came a day after US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm confirmed that the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California had made a breakthrough on December 5, by generating a nuclear fusion reaction that resulted in a net energy gain.

The the US Department of Energy describes nuclear fusion as a process in which two light nuclei combine and form a single heavier nucleus, releasing a large amount of energy.

US officials said the “historic” news will provide invaluable insights into the prospects of clean fusion energy. However, analysts say it could take years for such outcomes to be achieved.

 

  • Jim Pollard

 

 

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Jim Pollard

Jim Pollard is an Australian journalist based in Thailand since 1999. He worked for News Ltd papers in Sydney, Perth, London and Melbourne before travelling through SE Asia in the late 90s. He was a senior editor at The Nation for 17+ years.