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John Despotopulos

John Despotopulos

Radiochemist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

Appears in 1 story

Stories

The race to repeatable fusion ignition

New Capabilities

Leading team making first experimental measurements of nuclear reactions in stellar plasma

Los Alamos physicists achieved fusion ignition using a target that shouldn't have worked. On June 22, 2025, their THOR design—deliberately adding windows that leak crucial energy—generated 2.4 megajoules of fusion power at the National Ignition Facility. The shot created burning plasma, a self-sustaining reaction where fusion itself drives more fusion. It was ignition with a scientific instrument built in.

Updated Feb 2