On December 5, 2022, the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved fusion ignition with net energy gain for the first time in history: 2.05 megajoules of laser energy triggered a fusion reaction producing 3.15 megajoules of energy — a gain factor of about 1.5, and the first time any laboratory fusion experiment produced more energy than was used to start it, after more than 60 years of fusion research.
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On December 5, 2022, the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory achieved fusion ignition with net energy gain for the first time in history: 2.05 megajoules of laser energy triggered a fusion reaction producing 3.15 megajoules of energy — a gain factor of about 1.5, and the first time any laboratory fusion experiment produced more energy than was used to start it, after more than 60 years of fusion research.
The energy gain factor (fusion energy output divided by laser energy input) of the first laboratory fusion experiment to produce more energy than the laser energy used to trigger it.
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Current frontiers derived from accepted Claims.
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The frontier as it changed over time.
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1 accepted Claim, with 1 linked evidence records.
Permanent ID limitsregistry.com/limits/LR-NIF-FUSION-IGNITION
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Limits Registry. LR-NIF-FUSION-IGNITION. First laboratory fusion reaction with net energy gain. 2026.