Researchers Reportedly Achieve Nuclear Fusion in Tiny Pellets

Federal researchers working in secret have succeeded in igniting a nuclear fusion reaction in tiny pellets of hydrogen by using radiation from an exploding nuclear weapon, a report published Monday said.

The New York Times, citing anonymous scientists and officials, said the successful experiment occurred about two years ago at an underground nuclear test site in Nevada.

Scientists have long tried to tame nuclear fusion reactions, in the hope that they could eventually lead to an unlimited and relatively cheap source of electrical power. They might also be used to study nuclear physics and develop anti-missile weapons.

In most cases, scientists have tried to use concentrated light from giant lasers to trigger fusion, but laser-based fusion has never proved successful. The secret experiment in Nevada, the paper said, used X-ray radiation from a nuclear weapon directed at tiny fuel pellets.

The prototype fuel pellets are glass capsules filled with hydrogen isotopes, the report said. A dozen pellets can easily fit on the head of a pin but their power output could be equivalent to hundreds of pounds of high explosives, the newspaper said.

The method employed in the experiment has no practical use but is seen as a crucial advance that will help determine the feasibility of harnessing small-scale fusion, the newspaper said. The achievement required more energy than expected, scientists told the paper.

The newspaper said it is believed that the experiments had never been publicly disclosed. It said that last September, Sheldon Kahalas, director of the nation’s microfusion effort, told a Princeton University conference that the effort had reached a “historical turning point” but refused to elaborate.