Inside the nuclear fusion lab trying to replicate the Sun on Earth
Inside the nuclear fusion lab trying to replicate the Sun on Earth
CNN’s Bill Weir goes inside a laboratory trying to revolutionize the way electricity is generated. Unlike traditional power plants that contribute to global warming, this nuclear lab is working to harness energy similar to stars in the sky. #CNN #News
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0.257 -> electricity instead of power
1.692 -> plants that contribute to global
2.893 -> warming or nuclear power plants
7.097 -> that produce radio active waste.
9.399 -> These scientists are working to
12.102 -> harness a clean source of power
15.305 -> like stars in the sky do.
17.908 -> Here's bill weir.
18.642 -> >> Inside this building, some
19.71 -> very smart people built a star
22.312 -> on Earth.
23.38 -> Not the Hollywood kind.
24.648 -> That's easy.
25.182 -> No, the burning ball of gas in
26.95 -> the sky kind.
27.784 -> One of the hardest things humans
29.453 -> have ever tried.
31.154 -> >> I was at the airport when my
33.257 -> boss called me and I burst into
35.759 -> tears.
36.66 -> >> Tammy mall is among the
40.33 -> scientists who have been chasing
42.666 -> nuclear fusion for generations.
43.934 -> And in the middle of a December
46.036 -> night, they did it.
48.038 -> And you only need a tiny little
49.873 -> bit of feel.
50.674 -> >> That's right.
52.976 -> Yeah.
53.277 -> Because our little pellet that
54.778 -> sits in the middle is just two
58.682 -> millimeters in diameter.
60.15 -> >> That includes an abundant
64.688 -> isotope found in sea water.
67.19 -> Is now round room 30 feet across
71.128 -> with 192 massive lasers aimed at
73.23 -> the center.
74.698 -> >> They're about 40, 45
76.7 -> centimeters.
76.967 -> Each one is one of the most
78.869 -> energetic in the world.
80.704 -> Every time we do a shot, it's
82.706 -> 1,000 times the power of the
83.74 -> entire U.S. Electrical grid.
87.344 -> But your lights don't flicker at
89.313 -> home when we take a shot so
90.714 -> we're taking a huge amount of
92.149 -> energy and compressing it down
93.85 -> into Nan O seconds.
95.052 -> So it's about $14 of
96.92 -> electricity.
97.321 -> >> The national ignition
98.789 -> facility then amplifies all that
101.258 -> concentrated energy on the
102.059 -> target and if they get it just
103.894 -> right, more energy comes out
105.796 -> than went in.
106.797 -> With no risk of nuclear meltdown
109.8 -> or radio active waste.
111.001 -> >> In a fusion power plant, you
115.072 -> would shoot the same target over
115.806 -> and over about ten times a
117.841 -> second, dropping a target in and
119.743 -> shooting it with lasers.
121.178 -> >> So you'd need a target
122.746 -> loader.
122.846 -> >> Exactly.
123.58 -> So there's many, many technology
124.848 -> jumps we need to make but that's
126.75 -> what make it to exciting.
128.085 -> >> A lot of people we're seeing
129.853 -> have invested all this money,
131.088 -> time to pull the plug because
133.29 -> you haven't achieved ignition.
136.893 -> >> Some point --
138.328 -> >> Better ignite.
140.163 -> >> It's really hard to replicate
143.7 -> the process that's happening on
144.434 -> the sun on Earth.
145.602 -> It's just really hard.
147.637 -> So when that happened in
149.506 -> December, what it said is that
151.808 -> this is actually possible.
153.043 -> So it's no longer a question of
154.978 -> whether.
155.312 -> It's just a question of when.
157.981 -> That fusion is actually
159.75 -> possible.
160.117 -> Now, let's get to work.
162.219 -> >> Jake, experts say we are
165.255 -> decades away from most people
166.423 -> being able to plug into fusion
167.958 -> energy, but there's a start up
169.726 -> called helion which has a
174.197 -> machine shaped like a dumbbell
175.966 -> they say can fire plaza rings at
179.202 -> each other and will generate
181.538 -> electricity next year.
182.806 -> In fact, Microsoft in a first of
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnZOWjSNcJc