Keep pulling the thread on Lise Marie Imbert-Gerard.
In 2022, a fusion experiment in California achieved net energy gain for the first time, producing more energy than was consumed to initiate the reaction.
A new milestone in long-duration performance for a fusion experiment was achieved in 2025.
The Wendelstein 7-X (W7X) stellarator, which achieved a long-duration performance milestone in 2025, had its shape determined by computational optimization.
A research collaboration developed a computational code that can calculate magnetic fields for stellarator designs approximately 100 times faster than previous methods.
In the most studied nuclear fusion reaction, two lighter atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus and a neutron, releasing a vast amount of energy.
The total mass of the products in a nuclear fusion reaction is less than the total mass of the initial reactants, with the lost mass being converted into energy according to the formula E=mc^2.
Achieving nuclear fusion is difficult because the strong electrostatic repulsion between positively charged atomic nuclei must be overcome.
Nuclear fusion reactions require extremely high temperatures for particles to have enough energy to overcome electrostatic repulsion.
The Sun confines its plasma and sustains fusion reactions through its immense gravitational force.
In recent years, private investment in fusion energy research has significantly increased, complementing public funding.
The first major breakthrough in plasma confinement for fusion research was achieved in 1968.
The first controlled release of fusion energy was demonstrated in 1991.