The dream of fusion is here.
Scientists who study fusion, the reaction that powers the sun, have been exchanging information recently.
On Sunday, The Financial Times published an article saying that scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California had achieved ignition, a state in which more energy was produced in an experiment than lasers had put into it.
The federal Energy Department said on Monday that it would present a major scientific breakthrough.
The announcement about fusion energy will be made on Tuesday.
At 10 a.m., the sun goes down. You can watch it on the Energy Department website or in the video player embedded above.
The sun and other stars are lit up by the fusion of hydrogen and helium atoms. The mass of hydrogen is larger than that of helium. A burst of energy can be created by the difference in mass.
The U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal is developed and maintained at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The NIF is one of its many initiatives.
The main purpose of NIF is to conduct experiments that will help the United States maintain its nuclear weapons. Proponents believe it could lead to commercial power plants.
The burst of 10 quadrillion watt of power was 70 percent more powerful than the laser light hitting the hydrogen target.
It took 100 trillionths of a second for the burst to last.
Current nuclear power plants do not produce greenhouse gases like coal and oil, or long-lived radioactive waste, as a result of fusion that could be produced in a controlled way on Earth.
The laser experiments at NIF aren't practical enough to make electricity like a power plant.
Experiments point the way to developing technologies that are usable outside of a lab.
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