In 2023, the BBC selected some technologies that could become practical, including nuclear fusion energy technology, Flying taxis and direct satellite access for smartphones.
In early December 2022, at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the state of California, the United States, an experimental success using the world’s most powerful laser caused excitement in the world of physics and the world.
By aiming the laser at a fuel the size of a peppercorn and creating the necessary temperature and pressure, nuclear fusion energy was created.
This nuclear fusion energy is the energy that keeps the sun alive.
I have done this kind of experiment there before, but this time, the laser energy used is more powerful.
Being able to do this is a milestone for nuclear fusion energy researchers.
Although nuclear fusion based reactors are still a long way from being able to produce electricity, it has been confirmed that it is actually possible in terms of physics.
If this kind of reactor can really be done, it will be able to produce more energy with less fuel, and it will not release greenhouse gases that distort the world’s climate, so it will be an exciting energy production.
Although it is nuclear-based, it has the advantage of producing almost no nuclear waste compared to current conventional nuclear power reactors.
Dozens of private companies are trying to make this a reality, including UK-based First Light Fusion.
A company testing the technology outside of Oxford, UK, is using a unique method to generate nuclear fusion energy.
Instead of a laser, this company fired a small aluminum plate at a fuel target at a speed of 20 kilometers per second and released nuclear fusion energy.
Currently, by 2023, the company hopes to use a large reactor called Machine 4 to produce more nuclear fusion energy than it uses.
First Light Fusion has to compete with dozens of other companies to try to succeed first, he said.
In the United States, it will be announced in early 2023 which private company will receive US$50 million in funding for the construction of a nuclear fusion power reactor, and it is aimed to start production of these power reactors that are actually working in early 2030.
