First Light Fusion launched a projectile at over 20 kilometres per second (72,000 kph) into a piece of quartz crystal producing pressure upwards of <\/span>1.85 <\/span>terapascals<\/span> \u2014 almost four times the pressure found at Earth\u2019s core<\/span>. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The startup achieved the feat using the Z Machine, a nuclear-era device located in Albuquerque, US. <\/span>With a peak power of 80 trillion watts \u2014 more than the world\u2019s entire electricity grid \u2014 it electromagnetically launches projectiles to higher velocities than any other facility in the world.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Z machine was <\/span>designed to test materials in conditions of extreme temperature and pressure<\/span>, but since 1996 <\/span>it has been used primarily as an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research facility. <\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n First Light is pursuing a form of ICF called projectile fusion, which shoots something akin to a copper coin at tremendous speed into a target containing fusion fuel. This creates the extreme temperatures and pressures required to fuse atoms together, creating the same reaction that powers the Sun and stars.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n First Light has designed its target to amplify and direct the effects of the impact in a way that maximises pressure and heat. Beating the Z Machine\u2019s pressure record proves that the target \u2014 known as an amplifier \u2014 does its job.<\/span><\/p>\n This animation shows a close up of the projectile hitting the target:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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