A Maryland researcher has close ties with colleagues who made a breakthrough scientific discovery that could change the world and the reliance on fossil fuels.Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Library in California produced a reaction replicating the same fusion that powers the sun. This signals the possibility of not only a carbon-free energy source but an infinite clean energy source. The Biden administration wants the U.S. to lead the world in this technology. Researchers at the University of Maryland are working on their own magnetic confinement fusion project. Carlos Romero-Talamas is an associate professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and visiting professor with the University of Maryland who is actively involved with College Park's energy research facility."Just the fact that they achieved it is a very important milestone," Romero-Talamas said.Romero-Talamas said he was very excited to hear that his colleagues at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory were able to produce a net-energy gain through fusion."It is very exciting because they finally solved or demonstrated that they can compress a capsule with laser energy, which is something that wasn't out for many years," Romero-Talamas said.Romero-Talamas has a special tie to the laboratory having studied there as a graduate student and scholar."We've been talking about that for years, and so it's gratifying to see my colleagues at Livermore finally achieved that milestone," Romero-Talamas said.While the Livermore experiment used lasers to achieve its goal, Romero-Talamas has a similar project in the works in College Park that uses magnets.Experts said real-world use of fusion is still decades away, but it's certainly a step in the right direction toward clean, carbon and virtually waste-free energy.As an example, Romero-Talamas said powerplants could run on minimal amounts of lithium instead of coal."For a powerplant that produces, say, a megawatt of power, you will need something like 9,000 tons of coal to power the powerplant. With fusion energy, you will need about 2 kilogram of or 4 kilogram, more or less, of lithium," Romero-Talamas said.Watch the video above for the full story.
A Maryland researcher has close ties with colleagues who made a breakthrough scientific discovery that could change the world and the reliance on fossil fuels.
Researchers at the Lawrence Livermore National Library in California produced a reaction replicating the same fusion that powers the sun. This signals the possibility of not only a carbon-free energy source but an infinite clean energy source. The Biden administration wants the U.S. to lead the world in this technology.
Researchers at the University of Maryland are working on their own magnetic confinement fusion project. Carlos Romero-Talamas is an associate professor at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and visiting professor with the University of Maryland who is actively involved with College Park's energy research facility.
"Just the fact that they achieved it is a very important milestone," Romero-Talamas said.
Romero-Talamas said he was very excited to hear that his colleagues at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory were able to produce a net-energy gain through fusion.
"It is very exciting because they finally solved or demonstrated that they can compress a capsule with laser energy, which is something that wasn't out for many years," Romero-Talamas said.
Romero-Talamas has a special tie to the laboratory having studied there as a graduate student and scholar.
"We've been talking about that for years, and so it's gratifying to see my colleagues at Livermore finally achieved that milestone," Romero-Talamas said.
While the Livermore experiment used lasers to achieve its goal, Romero-Talamas has a similar project in the works in College Park that uses magnets.
Experts said real-world use of fusion is still decades away, but it's certainly a step in the right direction toward clean, carbon and virtually waste-free energy.
As an example, Romero-Talamas said powerplants could run on minimal amounts of lithium instead of coal.
"For a powerplant that produces, say, a megawatt of power, you will need something like 9,000 tons of coal to power the powerplant. With fusion energy, you will need about 2 kilogram of or 4 kilogram, more or less, of lithium," Romero-Talamas said.
Watch the video above for the full story.
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