What would you do with the largest laser in the world? That's the question Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) physicist Tammy Ma posed to the audience on the mainstage at the influential TED conference held in April in Vancouver.
In the talk, which was publicly released today, Ma shared her answer: bringing about a world powered by laser-based fusion energy, made possible by the Lab's Dec. 5, 2022 achievement of fusion ignition.
Watch Tammy Ma's TED Talk
"Our team at LLNL demonstrated fusion ignition for the very first time in human history. We generated a controlled thermonuclear reaction in the laboratory that generated more fusion energy than the laser energy needed to spark it," said Ma, who is spearheading the Lab's efforts to establish commercial fusion energy based on this approach.
By harnessing what's known as inertial fusion energy (IFE), a new kind of power plant would create usable energy from lasers firing onto hydrogen fueled targets at a rapid rate. When those targets ignite, they give off more energy than was used to create the reaction.
Fusion energy is clean. There are no carbon emissions and, unlike fission power plants, fusion ignition does not result in long-term waste.
Ignition was first achieved in an experiment conducted at LLNL's National Ignition Facility (NIF). It has since been repeated four times.
In the absence of underground nuclear testing since 1992, NIF experiments provide invaluable data to safeguard America's nuclear arsenal as part of the National Nuclear Security Administration's Stockpile Stewardship Program.
If realized, fusion energy power plants could transform the global economy. "When we make fusion energy a reality, energy will become so plentiful that it will no longer be a limited resource. This will change the world as we know it," Ma said in her talk.
TED Conferences, which began in 1984, showcase invited speakers who are renowned experts in a wide variety of topics, ranging from technology, entertainment and design to science, culture, politics, humanitarian issues and academics.
Fusion is incredibly complex and difficult, and significant scientific and engineering hurdles remain. Since LLNL demonstrated that fusion ignition is possible, governments across the world have ramped up their efforts and many new private fusion companies have joined the pursuit.
"The depth and breadth of this challenge will require sustained investment from government and private industry and all of us working together," she said. "I don't know how exactly long this will all take, but I do know that we can do it."
-Thomas Lynch
