Discovering the key to ‘fast ignition’

An international team of researchers have discovered what could be the key to controlled nuclear fusion. The first steps towards observing the process, known as ‘fast ignition’, have been taken by a team from the University of California and General Atomics. ‘Fast ignition’ is the process of initiating nuclear fusion reactions by using a high-intensity laser. The team of researchers, mainly formed of scientists and engineers, have achieved this thanks to a new energy / X-Ray imaging technique.