this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2026
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...“The calculation results show enhancements of fusion yields by orders of magnitude with currently available intense low-frequency laser fields,” highlighted the study.

For a collision energy of 1 keV—a level where fusion is normally almost impossible—the application of a 1.55 eV low-frequency laser can transform the reaction rate.

At 10^20 W/cm² intensity, the fusion probability increases by three orders of magnitude, while increasing the intensity to 5×10^21 W/cm² boosts the efficiency by a staggering nine orders of magnitude.

This dramatic increase effectively makes fusion at 1 keV (relatively low temperature) as probable as fusion at 10 keV without laser assistance...

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[–] hector@lemmy.today 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

How much did that cost? I would just be afraid of them making it worse with a mistake, but I knew a girl that said it was the best decision she ever made.

I think...$5,500 in 2005? Probably not relevant to today's prices. I would imagine the equipment has made things a bit safer and easier, which would probably ... Well I'm sure it wouldn't drop the price because who ever does that? But it probably kept it from rising too much.