Editing Timeline of nuclear fusion

{{Short description|Ongoing chronological account of events using or studying nuclear fusion}}
{{see also|Fusion power#History of research}}
{{More citations needed|date=March 2015}}

[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Timeline_of_nuclear_fusion&action=edit Edit]This '''timeline of nuclear fusion''' is an incomplete chronological summary of significant events in the study and use of [[nuclear fusion]].

==1920s==
* '''1920'''
** Based on [[F.W. Aston|F.W. Aston's]] measurements of the masses of low-mass elements and [[Albert Einstein|Einstein's]] discovery that <math>E=mc^2</math>, [[Arthur Eddington]] proposes that large amounts of energy released by [[nuclear fusion|fusing]] small nuclei together provides the energy source that powers the stars.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Eddington |first=A. S. |date=1920 |title=The Internal Constitution of the Stars |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1645153 |journal=Science |volume=52 |issue=1341 |pages=233–240 |issn=0036-8075}}</ref>
** [[Henry Norris Russell]] notes that the relationship in the [[Hertzsprung–Russell diagram]] suggests a hot core rather than burning throughout the star. Eddington uses this to calculate that the core would have to be about 40&nbsp;million Kelvin. This was a matter of some debate at the time, because the value is much higher than what observations suggest, which is about one-third to one-half that value.
* '''1928'''
** [[George Gamow]] introduces the mathematical basis for [[quantum tunnelling]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Compendium of Quantum Physics |publisher=Springer |first1=G. |last1=Nimtz |first2=B. |last2=Clegg |date=12 August 2009 |editor-last1=Greenberger |editor-first1=D. |editor-last2=Hentschel |editor-first2=K. |editor-last3=Weinert|editor-first3=F. |isbn=978-3-540-70622-9 |pages=799–802}}</ref>
* '''1929'''
** [[Robert d'Escourt Atkinson|Atkinson]] and [[Fritz Houtermans|Houtermans]] provide the first calculations of the rate of nuclear fusion in stars. Based on Gamow's tunnelling, they show fusion can occur at lower energies than previously believed. When used with Eddington's calculations of the required fusion rates in stars, their calculations demonstrate this would occur at the lower temperatures that Eddington had calculated.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Atkinson|first1=R. d E.|last2=Houtermans|first2=F. G.|title=Zur Frage der Aufbaumöglichkeit der Elemente in Sternen|journal=Zeitschrift für Physik|date=1929|volume=54|issue=9–10|pages=656–665|doi=10.1007/BF01341595|bibcode = 1929ZPhy...54..656A |s2cid=123658609}}</ref>

==1930s==
* '''1932'''
** [[Ernest Rutherford]]'s [[Cavendish Laboratory]] at [[Cambridge University]] begins nuclear experiments with a [[particle accelerator]] built by [[John Cockcroft]] and [[Ernest Walton]].<ref name=invent>{{cite web |website=Iter |url=https://www.iter.org/mag/3/29 |title=Who "invented" fusion? |first=Robert |last=Arnoux |date=May 2014}}</ref>
** In April, Walton produces the first man-made [[nuclear disintegration]] by using [[proton]]s from the accelerator to split [[lithium]] into [[alpha particle]]s. They discover the intermediary creation of the extremely short-lived [[beryllium-8]] isotope. '''This could be considered the first artificial fusion'''.<ref name=invent/>
* '''1934'''
** Using an updated version of the equipment firing deuterium rather than hydrogen, [[Mark Oliphant]] discovered [[helium-3]] and [[tritium]], and that heavy [[hydrogen]] nuclei could be made to react with each other. '''This is considered the first artificial fusion'''.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 February 2016 |title=Mark Oliphant |url=http://ethw.org/Mark_Oliphant |access-date=11 March 2016 |website=Mark Oliphant |publisher=ETHW}}</ref>
*'''1937'''
**[[George Gamow]] and [[Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker]] suggest [[Diproton|proton combination into deuterium]] may be the source of stellar energy.<ref>C.F. von Weizsäcker (1937) "Über Elementumwandlungen im Innern der Sterne. I" (On transformations of elements in the interiors of stars. I), ''Physikalische Zeitschrift'' (Physics Journal), vol. 38, pages 176–191.</ref>
* '''1938'''
** In March, [[Hans Bethe]] attends the [[Carnegie Institution for Science|Carnegie Institute]] and [[George Washington University]]'s fourth annual [[Washington Conference on Theoretical Physics]] on [[Edward Teller]]'s insistence. He works with [[Charles Critchfield]] to derive stellar nuclear reactions beyond the proton combination into deuterium. They publish two reactions based on the incorrect assumption tritium is more stable, and four reactions based on the correct assumption helium-3 is more stable, thereby discovering the [[proton–proton chain]].<ref name="y843">{{cite journal |last=Bethe |first=H. A. |last2=Critchfield |first2=C. L. |date=1938-08-15 |title=The Formation of Deuterons by Proton Combination |journal=Physical Review |publisher=American Physical Society (APS) |volume=54 |issue=4 |pages=248–254 |doi=10.1103/physrev.54.248 |issn=0031-899X}}</ref>
** Kantrowitz and Jacobs of the [[NACA]] [[Langley Research Center]] built a toroidal [[magnetic bottle]] and heat the plasma with a 150&nbsp;W radio source. Hoping to heat the plasma to millions of degrees, the system fails and they are forced to abandon their [[Diffusion Inhibitor]].{{sfn|Dean|2013|p=3}} '''This is the first attempt to make a working fusion reactor'''.
* '''1939'''
** [[Peter Thonemann (physicist)|Peter Thonemann]] develops a detailed plan for a [[pinch (plasma physics)|pinch]] device, but is told to do other work for his thesis.{{sfn|Dean|2013|p=3}}
** [[Hans Bethe]] publishes the discovery of the [[CNO cycle|carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle]] in higher mass stars.<ref name="w895">{{cite journal |last=Bethe |first=H. A. |date=1939-03-01 |title=Energy Production in Stars |journal=Physical Review |volume=55 |issue=5 |pages=434–456 |doi=10.1103/PhysRev.55.434 |issn=0031-899X |doi-access=free}}</ref> Along with the proton-proton chain, this work results in the 1967 [[Nobel Prize for Physics]].<ref>{{cite web |website=Nobel Prize |url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1967/bethe/facts/ |title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1967 Hans Bethe}}</ref>

==1940s==
* '''1945'''
** The [[Smyth Report]], detailing the history of fission research and the [[Manhattan Project]], briefly refers to Bethe's discovery of the [[CNO cycle]] and the eventual possibility of laboratory fusion, without using the word "fusion".<ref name="r215">{{cite journal |last=Smyth |first=H. D. |year=1976 |title=The |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/26404011 |journal=The Princeton University Library Chronicle |publisher=Princeton University Library |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=173–189 |issn=00328456 |jstor=26404011 |access-date=2024-12-29}}</ref>
* '''1946'''
** [[George Paget Thomson]] of [[Imperial College, London]] designs the [[toroidal solenoid]], a simple fusion device. With [[Moses Blackman]], he further develops the concept and files for a patent. '''This becomes the first fusion device to receive a patent.'''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.iter.org/mag/3/29 |title=Who 'invented' fusion? |first=Robert |last=Arnoux |date=May 2014}}</ref> Repeated attempts to get development funding fail.
* '''1947'''
** A meeting at [[Atomic Energy Research Establishment|Harwell]] on the topic of fusion raises new concerns with the concept. On his return to London, Thomson gets graduate students [[James L. Tuck]] and [[Alan Alfred Ware]] to build a prototype device out of old radar parts.<ref name=handl>{{cite book
 |first1=John |last1=Hendry
 |first2=John |last2=Lawson
 |author-link2=John D. Lawson (scientist)
 |title=Fusion Research in the UK 1945 – 1960
 |publisher=AEA Technology
 |date=January 1993
 |url=https://scientific-publications.ukaea.uk/wp-content/uploads/Fusion-research-in-the-UK-1945-1960.pdf
}}</ref>
** [[Peter Thonemann]] comes up with a similar idea, but uses a different method of heating the fuel. This seems much more practical and finally gains the mild interest of the UK nuclear establishment. Not aware of who he is talking to, Thonemann describes the concept to Thomson, who adopts the same concept.<ref name=handl/>
** [[Herbert Wakefield Banks Skinner|Herbert Skinner]] begins to write a lengthy report on the entire fusion concept, pointing out several areas of little or no knowledge.<ref name=handl/>
* '''1948'''
** The [[Ministry of Supply]] (MoS) asks Thomson about the status of his patent filing, and he describes the problems he has getting funding.  The MoS forces Harwell to provide some money, and Thomson releases his rights to the patent. It is granted late that year.<ref name=handl/>
** Skinner publishes his report, calling for some experimental effort to explore the areas of concern. Along with the MoS's calls for funding of Thomson, this event marks the beginning of formal fusion research in the UK.<ref name=handl/>

==1950s==
* '''1950'''
** In January, [[Klaus Fuchs]] admits to passing nuclear secrets to the [[Soviet Union]]. Almost all nuclear research in the UK, including the fledgling fusion program, is immediately classified. Thomson, until this time working at Imperial University, is moved to the [[Atomic Weapons Research Establishment]].
** The [[tokamak]], a type of [[magnetic confinement fusion]] device, was proposed by Soviet scientists [[Andrei Sakharov]] and [[Igor Tamm]].[[File:GreenHouseGeorge2.gif|thumb|The United States test [[Greenhouse George]], the first use of artificial thermonuclear fusion, in 1951]]
* '''1951'''
** [[Edward Teller]] and [[Stanislaw Ulam]] at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]] (LANL) develop the [[Teller-Ulam design]] for the [[thermonuclear weapon]], allowing for the development of multi-megaton weapons.
** A press release from [[Argentina]] claims that their [[Huemul Project]] had produced controlled nuclear fusion. This prompted a wave of responses in other countries, especially the U.S.
*** [[Lyman Spitzer]] dismisses the Argentinian claims, but while thinking about it comes up with the [[stellarator]] concept. Funding is arranged under Project Matterhorn and develops into the [[Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory]].
*** Tuck introduces the British pinch work to LANL. He develops the [[Perhapsatron]] under the codename [[Project Sherwood]]. The project name is a play on his name via Friar Tuck.<ref>...the first money to be allocated [to controlled nuclear research] happened to be for Tuck, and was diverted from Project Lincoln, in the Hood Laboratory. The coincidence of names prompted the well-known cover name "Project Sherwood". James L. Tuck, [http://bayesrules.net/JamesTuckVitaeAndBiography.pdf "Curriculum Vita and Autobiography"], declassified document from Los Alamos National Laboratory (1974), reproduced with permission. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120209082757/http://bayesrules.net/JamesTuckVitaeAndBiography.pdf Archived] 9 February 2012.</ref>
*** [[Richard F. Post]] presents his [[magnetic mirror]] concept and also receives initial funding, eventually moving to [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]] (LLNL).
*** In the UK, repeated requests for more funding that had previously been turned down are suddenly approved. Within a short time, three separate efforts are started, one at Harwell and two at [[Atomic Weapons Establishment]] (Aldermaston). Early planning for a much larger machine at Harwell begins.
*** Using the Huemul release as leverage, Soviet researchers find their funding proposals rapidly approved. Work on linear pinch machines begins that year.
**On May 9, the American nuclear test [[Greenhouse George]], the first of a [[boosted fission weapon]], yields 255 kilotons from an [[enriched uranium]] core and [[deuterium]]-[[tritium]] gas. '''This is the artificial thermonuclear fusion, and the first weaponization of fusion energy'''.<ref name="i189">{{cite journal |last=Goncharov |first=German A |date=1996-10-31 |title=American and Soviet H-bomb development programmes: historical background |journal=Physics-Uspekhi |volume=39 |issue=10 |pages=1033–1044 |doi=10.1070/PU1996v039n10ABEH000174 |issn=1063-7869}}</ref>
**Experimental research of toroidal magnetic confinement systems starts at the [[Kurchatov Institute]], [[Moscow]], led by a group of Soviet scientists led by [[Lev Artsimovich]]. Device chambers are constructed from glass, porcelain, or metal. Their largest device, TMP, uses a porcelain chamber with metal spirals. Data is collected from '''the first operational toroidal magnetic plasma devices'''.<ref name="d7422">{{cite journal |last=Smirnov |first=V.P. |date=2009-12-30 |title=Tokamak foundation in USSR/Russia 1950–1990 |journal=Nuclear Fusion |publisher=IOP Publishing |volume=50 |issue=1 |page=014003 |doi=10.1088/0029-5515/50/1/014003 |issn=0029-5515 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
[[Image:IvyMike2.jpg|thumb|The United States test [[Ivy Mike]], the first full [[thermonuclear weapon]], in 1952.]]
* '''1952'''
** On November 1, the United States conducts the [[Ivy Mike]] shot of [[Operation Ivy]], '''the first detonation of a [[thermonuclear weapon|hydrogen bomb]]''', yields 10.4 megatons of TNT out of a fusion fuel of liquid deuterium.
** Cousins and Ware build a larger toroidal [[Pinch (plasma physics)|pinch]] device in England and demonstrated that the plasma in pinch devices is inherently unstable.
* '''1953'''
** The first Soviet fusion bomb test, [[RDS-6s]], American codename "[[Joe 4]]", demonstrated the first fission/fusion/fission "layercake" design, limited below the megaton range, with less than 20% of the yield coming directly from fusion. It was quickly superseded by the [[Teller-Ulam|Teller-Ulam design]]. This was '''the first aerial drop of a fusion weapon'''.
** [[Z-pinch|Linear pinch devices]] in the US and USSR report detections of [[neutron]]s, an indication of fusion reactions. Both are later explained as coming from instabilities in the fuel, and are non-fusion in nature.
** Scientists at the [[Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory]] construct Model A, '''the first operational stellarator'''.<ref name="d742">{{cite journal |last=Smirnov |first=V.P. |date=2009-12-30 |title=Tokamak foundation in USSR/Russia 1950–1990 |journal=Nuclear Fusion |publisher=IOP Publishing |volume=50 |issue=1 |page=014003 |doi=10.1088/0029-5515/50/1/014003 |issn=0029-5515 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* '''1954'''
** Early planning for the large [[ZETA (fusion reactor)|ZETA]] device at Harwell begins. The name is a take-off on [[research reactor|small experimental fission reactors]] which often had "zero energy" in their name, [[ZEEP]] being an example.
** [[Edward Teller]] gives a now-famous speech on plasma stability in magnetic bottles at the Princeton Gun Club. His work suggests that most magnetic bottles are inherently unstable, outlining what is today known as the [[interchange instability]].
* '''1955'''
** At the first [[Atoms for Peace]] meeting in Geneva, [[Homi J. Bhabha]] predicts that fusion will be in commercial use within two decades. This prompts a number of countries to begin fusion research; [[Japan]], [[France]] and [[Sweden]] all start programs this year or the next.
** Scientists in the Soviet Union achieve '''the first fusion via a purely chemical explosive-driven implosion''', using spherical shock waves to compress a <chem>UD2T</chem> target.<ref name="u898">{{cite journal |last=KOZYREV |first=A. S. |last2=ALEKSANDROV |first2=V. A. |last3=POPOV |first3=N. A. |year=1978 |title=Fusion first for USSR |journal=Nature |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC |volume=275 |issue=5680 |pages=476–476 |doi=10.1038/275476a0 |issn=0028-0836 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
* '''1956'''
** Construction of ZETA begins at Harwell.
** [[Igor Kurchatov]] gives a talk at Harwell on pinch devices,<ref>[http://www.efda.org/2010/04/lecture-of-i-v-kurchatov-at-harwell/ "Lecture of I.V. Kurchatov at Harwell"], from the address of I.V. Kurchatov: "On the possibility of producing thermonuclear reactions in a gas discharge" at Harwell on 25 April 1956. [https://web.archive.org/web/20150720180242/https://www.euro-fusion.org/2010/04/lecture-of-i-v-kurchatov-at-harwell/ Archived] 20 July 2015.</ref> revealing for the first time that the USSR is also working on fusion. He details the problems they are seeing, mirroring those in the US and UK.
** In August, a number of articles on plasma physics appear in various Soviet journals.
** In the wake of the Kurchatov's speech, the US and UK begin to consider releasing their own data. Eventually, they settle on a release prior to the 2nd [[Atoms for Peace]] conference in [[Geneva]] in 1958.
** On May 27, the United States conducts the Zuni test of [[Operation Redwing]] with a [[B41 nuclear bomb|Mk-41 bomb]], '''the first test of a three-stage hydrogen bomb'''.[[File:Scylla I in 1958.jpg|thumb|Scylla I, the first device to achieve controlled thermonuclear fusion, in 1958. It was a [[theta pinch]] design built by [[Los Alamos National Laboratory]].]]
* '''1957'''
** In the US, at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory|LANL]], [[Scylla I (thermonuclear fusion device)|Scylla I]]<ref>[http://www.lanl.gov/about/history-innovation/now-then-los-alamos.php In 1957, Los Alamos achieved the first controlled thermonuclear plasma.], Now and Then at Los Alamos.</ref> begins operation using the θ-pinch design.
** ZETA is completed in the summer, it will be the largest fusion machine for a decade.
** In August, initial results on ZETA appear to suggest the machine has successfully reached basic fusion temperatures. UK researchers start pressing for public release, while the US demurs.
** Scientists at the AEI Research laboratory in Harwell reported that the [[Sceptre (fusion reactor)|Sceptre III]] plasma column remained stable for 300 to 400 microseconds, a dramatic improvement on previous efforts. Working backward, the team calculated that the plasma had an electrical resistivity around 100 times that of copper, and was able to carry 200 kA of current for 500 microseconds in total.[[File:Tokamak T-1.jpg|thumb|T-1, the first operational [[tokamak]], built by the [[Kurchatov Institute]] in 1958.]]
* '''1958'''
** In January, the US and UK release large amounts of data, with the ZETA team claiming fusion. Other researchers, notably Artsimovich and Spitzer, are sceptical.
** In May, a series of new tests demonstrate the measurements on ZETA were erroneous, and the claims of fusion have to be retracted.
** American, British and [[USSR|Soviet]] scientists began to share previously classified controlled fusion research as part of the [[Atoms for Peace]] conference in [[Geneva]] in September. It is the largest international scientific meeting to date. It becomes clear that basic pinch concepts are not successful and that no device has yet created fusion at any level.
** Scylla demonstrates '''the first controlled thermonuclear fusion in any laboratory''',<ref>[https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/lib-www/la-pubs/00403632.pdf Reviewing next the thermonuclear plasma achievements at Los Alamos, we have achieved:(1) The first controlled thermonuclear reaction.], Review of Controlled Thermonuclear Research at Los Alamos 1965, J. L. Tuck</ref><ref>[https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/pubs/00285870.pdf The first experiment in which thermonuclear fusion was achieved in any laboratory was done in 1958 with the Scylla I machine. ], Winter/Spring 1983 [[Los Alamos Science]].</ref> although confirmation came too late to be announced at Geneva. This [[theta pinch|θ-pinch]] approach will ultimately be abandoned as calculations show it cannot scale up to produce a reactor.
** The [[Kurchatov Institute]] constructs its first toroidal device with an all-metal chamber, T-1, considered to be '''the first operational tokamak'''.<ref name="d7423">{{cite journal |last=Smirnov |first=V.P. |date=2009-12-30 |title=Tokamak foundation in USSR/Russia 1950–1990 |journal=Nuclear Fusion |publisher=IOP Publishing |volume=50 |issue=1 |page=014003 |doi=10.1088/0029-5515/50/1/014003 |issn=0029-5515 |doi-access=free}}</ref> 

==1960s==
* '''1960'''
** After considering the concept for some time, [[John Nuckolls]] publishes the concept of [[inertial confinement fusion]]. The [[laser]], introduced the same year, appears to be a suitable "driver".
* '''1961'''
** The [[Soviet Union]] test the [[Tsar Bomba]] (50&nbsp;megatons), the most powerful [[thermonuclear weapon]] ever.
* '''1964'''
** Plasma temperatures of approximately 40 million degrees Celsius and a few billion deuteron-deuteron fusion reactions per discharge were achieved at [[Los Alamos National Laboratory|LANL]] with the [[Scylla IV]] device.<ref>[https://fas.org/sgp/othergov/doe/lanl/pubs/00285870.pdf In 1964 plasma temperatures of approximately 40 million degrees...were achieved with the Scylla IV], Winter/Spring 1983 LOS ALAMOS SCIENCE.</ref>
* '''1965'''
** At an international meeting at the UK's new fusion research centre in Culham, the Soviets release early results showing greatly improved performance in toroidal pinch machines. The announcement is met by scepticism, especially by the UK team who's ZETA was largely identical. Spitzer, chairing the meeting, essentially dismisses it out of hand.
** At the same meeting, odd results from the ZETA machine are published. It will be years before the significance of these results are realized.
** By the end of the meeting, it is clear that most fusion efforts have stalled. All of the major designs, including the [[stellarator]], pinch machines and [[magnetic mirror]]s are all losing plasma at rates that are simply too high to be useful in a reactor setting. Less-known designs like the [[levitron (fusion reactor)|levitron]] and [[Astron (fusion reactor)|astron]] are faring no better.
** The 12-beam "4 pi laser" using ruby as the lasing medium is developed at [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]] (LLNL) includes a gas-filled target chamber of about 20 centimeters in diameter.
* '''1967'''
** Demonstration of [[Farnsworth-Hirsch Fusor]] appeared to generate neutrons in a nuclear reaction.
** [[Hans Bethe]] wins the 1967 [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] for his publication on how fusion powers the stars in work of 1939.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hans Bethe|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1967/bethe-bio.html|website=Hans Bethe - Biographical|publisher=Nobel Prize.org|access-date=11 March 2016}}</ref>
* '''1968'''
** [[Robert L. Hirsch]] is hired by [[Amasa Bishop]] of the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] as staff physicist. Hirsch would eventually end up running the fusion program during the 1970s.
** Further results from the T-3 [[tokamak]], similar to the toroidal pinch machine mentioned in 1965, claims temperatures to be over an order of magnitude higher than any other device. The Western scientists remain highly sceptical.
** The Soviets invite a UK team from ZETA to perform independent measurements on T-3.
* '''1969'''
** The UK team, nicknamed "The Culham Five", confirm the Soviet results early in the year. They publish their results in October's edition of ''Nature''. This leads to a "veritable stampede" of tokamak construction around the world.
** After learning of the Culham Five's results in August, a furious debate breaks out in the US establishment over whether or not to build a tokamak. After initially pooh-poohing the concept, the Princeton group eventually decides to convert their stellarator to a tokamak.
** The [[Kurchatov Institute]] detects neutrons from deuterium plasma in their T-3A tokamak, marking '''the first fusion in a tokamak device'''.<ref name="d569">{{cite journal |last=Artsimovich |first=L. A. |last2=Anashin |first2=A. M. |last3=Gorbunov |first3=E. P. |last4=Ivanov |first4=D. P. |last5=Petrov |first5=M. P. |last6=Strelkov |first6=V. S. |date=1972 |title=Investigation of Plasma Neutron Radiation from the Tokamak T-3A Installation |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1972JETP...34..306A/abstract |journal=Soviet Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics |volume=34 |page= |issn=1063-7761 |access-date=2024-11-06}}</ref>

==1970s==
* '''1970'''
** Princeton's conversion of the [[Model C stellarator]] to the [[Symmetrical Tokamak]] is completed, and tests match and then best the Soviet results. With an apparent solution to the magnetic bottle problem in-hand, plans begin for a larger machine to test the scaling and various methods to heat the plasma.
** Kapchinskii and Teplyakov introduce a [[particle accelerator]] for heavy ions that appear suitable as an ICF driver in place of lasers.
* '''1972'''
** The first neodymium-[[Doping (semiconductor)|doped]] glass (Nd:glass) laser for ICF research, the "[[Long path laser|Long Path laser]]" is completed at LLNL and is capable of delivering ~50 joules to a fusion target.
* '''1973'''
** Design work on [[Joint European Torus|JET]], the Joint European Torus, begins.
** The [[Kurchatov Institute]] begins development of T-8 and T-9, investing non-circular tokamak cross-sections such as the T-8's D-shaped design.<ref name="d7423" />
* '''1974'''
** [[John Bryan Taylor|J.B. Taylor]] re-visited ZETA results of 1958 and explained that the quiet-period was in fact very interesting. This led to the development of [[reversed field pinch]], now generalised as "self-organising plasmas", an ongoing line of research.
** [[KMS Fusion]], a private-sector company, builds an ICF reactor using laser drivers. Despite limited resources and numerous business problems, KMS successfully compresses fuel in December 1973, and on 1 May 1974 successfully demonstrates the '''world's first laser-induced fusion'''. Neutron-sensitive nuclear emulsion detectors, developed by Nobel Prize winner [[Robert Hofstadter]], were used to provide evidence of this discovery.
** Beams using mature high-energy accelerator technology are hailed as the elusive "brand-X" driver capable of producing fusion implosions for commercial power. The [[Livingston Curve]], which illustrates the improvement in power of [[particle accelerator]]s over time, is modified to show the energy needed for fusion to occur. Experiments commence on the single beam LLNL [[Cyclops laser]], testing new optical designs for future ICF lasers.
* '''1975'''
** The [[Princeton Large Torus]] (PLT), the follow-on to the Symmetrical Tokamak, begins operation. It soon surpasses the best Soviet machines and sets several temperature records that are above what is needed for a commercial reactor. PLT continues to set records until it is decommissioned.
* '''1976'''
** Workshop, called by the US-ERDA (now DoE) at the Claremont Hotel in Berkeley, CA for an ad-hoc two-week summer study.  Fifty senior scientists from the major US ICF programs and accelerator laboratories participated, with program heads and Nobel laureates also attending. In the closing address, Dr. C. Martin Stickley, then Director of US-ERDA's Office of Inertial Fusion, announced the conclusion was "no showstoppers" on the road to fusion energy. 
** The two beam [[Argus laser]] is completed at LLNL and experiments involving more advanced laser-target interactions commence.
** Based on the continued success of the PLT, the DOE selects a larger Princeton design for further development. Initially designed simply to test a commercial-sized tokamak, the DOE team instead gives them the explicit goal of running on a deuterium-tritium fuel as opposed to test fuels like hydrogen or deuterium. The project is given the name [[Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor]] (TFTR).
** The [[Kurchatov Institute]] builds the TO-2, '''the first tokamak with a [[divertor]]''', using a toroidal configuration which would soon be superseded by poloidal divertors.<ref name="r333">{{cite journal |last=Azizov |first=E A |date=2012-02-28 |title=Tokamaks: from A D Sakharov to the present (the 60-year history of tokamaks) |journal=Physics-Uspekhi |publisher=Uspekhi Fizicheskikh Nauk (UFN) Journal |volume=55 |issue=2 |pages=190–203 |doi=10.3367/ufne.0182.201202j.0202 |issn=1063-7869}}</ref>
* '''1977'''
** The 20 beam [[Shiva laser]] at LLNL is completed, capable of delivering 10.2 kilojoules of infrared energy on target. At a price of $25 million and a size approaching that of a football field, the Shiva laser is the first of the "megalasers" at LLNL and brings the field of ICF research fully within the realm of "[[big science]]".
** The [[Joint European Torus|JET]] project is given the go-ahead by the [[European Commission|EC]], choosing the UK's center at Culham as its site.
[[Image:IFE laser parameter space.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Progress in power and energy levels attainable by inertial confinement lasers has increased dramatically since the early 1970s.]]
* '''1978'''
** As PLT continues to set new records, Princeton is given additional funding to adapt TFTR with the explicit goal of reaching breakeven.
** The [[Kurchatov Institute]] builds the T-7, '''the first full-scale tokamak to use superconducting coils''', using an <chem>NbTi</chem> alloy.<ref name="d7423" /><ref name="r333" />
* '''1979'''
** LANL successfully demonstrates the radio frequency quadrupole accelerator (RFQ).
** [[Argonne National Laboratory|ANL]] and Hughes Research Laboratories demonstrate required ion source brightness with xenon beam at 1.5MeV. 
** The Foster Panel report to US-DoE's Energy Research and advisory board on ICF concludes that [[heavy ion fusion]] (HIF) is the "conservative approach" to ICF. Listing HIF's advantages in his report, John Foster remarked: "...now that is kind of exciting." After DoE Office of Inertial Fusion completed review of programs, Director Gregory Canavan decides to accelerate the HIF effort.

==1980s==
* '''1980'''
** Scientists in the Soviet Union report '''the first conical target fusion''', produced by the impact of a metal projectile containing deuterium, accelerated by chemical explosives to 5.4 km/s.<ref name="r848">{{cite journal |last=Anisimov |first=S. I. |last2=Bespalov |first2=V. E. |last3=Vovchenko |first3=V. I. |last4=Dremin |first4=A. N. |last5=Dubovitskii |first5=F. I. |last6=Zharkov |first6=A. P. |last7=Ivanov |first7=M. F. |last8=Krasiuk |first8=I. K. |last9=Pashinin |first9=P. P. |last10=Prokhorov |first10=A. M. |title=Generation of neutrons as a result of explosive initiation of the DD reactions in conical targets |url=https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1980ZhPmR..31...67A/abstract |journal=ZhETF Pisma Redaktsiiu |volume=31 |pages=67–70 |access-date=2024-11-05}}</ref>
* '''1982'''
** HIBALL study by German and US institutions,<ref>...Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung; Institut für Plasmaphysik, Garching; Kernforschungszentrum Karlsruhe, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Max-Planck-Institut für Quantenoptik</ref> Garching uses the high repetition rate of the RF accelerator driver to serve four reactor chambers and first-wall protection using liquid lithium inside the chamber cavity.
** [[Tore Supra]] construction starts at [[Cadarache]], France. Its [[superconductivity|superconducting]] magnets will permit it to generate a strong permanent toroidal magnetic field.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www-drfc.cea.fr/gb/cea/ts/ts.htm |title=Tore Supra |website=www-drfc.cea.fr |access-date=15 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115112229/http://www-drfc.cea.fr/gb/cea/ts/ts.htm |archive-date=15 November 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
** [[high-confinement mode]] (H-mode) discovered in tokamaks.
* '''1983'''
** [[Joint European Torus]], the largest operational magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment is completed on time and on budget. First plasmas achieved.
** The [[NOVETTE laser]] at LLNL comes on line and is used as a test bed for the next generation of ICF lasers, specifically the [[NOVA laser]].
* '''1984'''
** The huge 10 beam [[NOVA laser]] at LLNL is completed and switches on in December. NOVA would ultimately produce a maximum of 120 kilojoules of infrared laser light during a nanosecond pulse in a 1989 experiment.
* '''1985'''
** National Academy of Sciences reviewed military ICF programs, noting HIF's major advantages clearly but averring that HIF was "supported primarily by other [than military] programs". The review of ICF by the National Academy of Sciences marked the trend with the observation: "The energy crisis is dormant for the time being."<ref>{{cite web |date=1986 |title=Review of the Department of Energy's Inertial Confinement Fusion Program |url=http://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/21645 |author-last=National Research Council |publisher=National Academies Press |doi=10.17226/21645}}</ref> Energy becomes the sole purpose of heavy ion fusion. 
** The Japanese tokamak, [[JT-60]] completed. First plasmas achieved.
* '''1988'''
** The [[T-15 (reactor)|T-15]], Soviet tokamak with superconducting helium-cooled coils completed.
** The Conceptual Design Activity for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor ([[ITER]]), the successor to [[T-15 (reactor)|T-15]], [[TFTR]], [[Joint European Torus|JET]] and [[JT-60]], begins.<ref>{{cite web |title=The ITER story |url=https://www.iter.org/proj/iterhistory |website=ITER.org}}</ref> Participants include [[EURATOM]], Japan, the [[Soviet Union]] and United States. It ended in 1990.
** The first plasma produced at [[Tore Supra]] in April.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Tore Supra Tokamak|url=http://www-fusion-magnetique.cea.fr/cea/ts/resultats.htm|publisher=CEA|access-date=20 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211105510/http://www-fusion-magnetique.cea.fr/cea/ts/resultats.htm|archive-date=11 February 2011}}</ref>
* '''1989'''
** On March 23, two [[Utah]] electrochemists, [[Stanley Pons]] and [[Martin Fleischmann]], announced that they had achieved [[cold fusion]]: fusion reactions which could occur at room temperatures. However, they made their announcements before any peer review of their work was performed, and no subsequent experiments by other researchers revealed any evidence of fusion.

==1990s==
* '''1990'''
** Decision to construct the [[National Ignition Facility]] "beamlet" laser at LLNL is made.
* '''1991'''
** The [[Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak|START]] Tokamak fusion experiment begins in [[Culham]]. The experiment would eventually achieve a record [[Fusion power#Beta|beta]] (plasma pressure compared to magnetic field pressure) of 40% using a [[neutral beam injector]]. It was the first design that adapted the conventional toroidal fusion experiments into a tighter spherical design.
** The [[JT-60]] tokamak was upgraded to [[JT-60#JT-60U (Upgrade)|JT-60U]] in March.<ref>{{Cite report |title=Annual report of the Naka Fusion Research Establishment for the period of April 1, 1990 to March 31, 1991 |author1=那珂研究所 |date=1991 |publisher=日本原子力研究開発機構 |doi=10.11484/jaeri-m-91-159 |language=ja}}</ref>
** On November 9, the [[Joint European Torus|JET]] tokamak achieves '''the first 50-50 mix deuterium-tritium fusion experiments via magnetic confinement'''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rebut |first1=P-H |year=1992 |title=The JET preliminary tritium experiment |journal=Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion |volume=34 |issue=13 |pages=1749–1758 |bibcode=1992PPCF...34.1749R |doi=10.1088/0741-3335/34/13/002 |s2cid=250880054}}</ref>
* '''1992'''
** The Engineering Design Activity for the [[ITER]] starts with participants [[EURATOM]], Japan, Russia and United States. It ended in 2001.
** The United States and the former republics of the Soviet Union cease nuclear weapons testing.
* '''1993'''
** The [[TFTR]] tokamak at [[Princeton University|Princeton]] (PPPL) experiments with a 50% [[deuterium]], 50% [[tritium]] mix, eventually producing as much as 10 megawatts of power from a controlled fusion reaction.
* '''1994'''
** NIF Beamlet laser is completed and begins experiments validating the expected performance of NIF.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
** The USA declassifies information about indirectly driven (hohlraum) target design.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
** Comprehensive European-based study of HIF driver begins, centered at the Gesellschaft für Schwerionenforschung (GSI) and involving 14 laboratories, including USA and Russia. The Heavy Ion Driven Inertial Fusion (HIDIF) study will be completed in 1997.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
* '''1996'''
** A record is reached at [[Tore Supra]]: a plasma duration of two minutes with a current of almost 1 million amperes driven non-inductively by 2.3 MW of [[Lower hybrid oscillation|lower hybrid frequency waves]] (i.e. 280 MJ of injected and extracted energy). This result was possible due to the actively cooled plasma-facing components installed in the machine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-drfc.cea.fr/gb/cea/ts/ts.htm |title=Tore Supra |access-date=February 3, 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121115112229/http://www-drfc.cea.fr/gb/cea/ts/ts.htm |archive-date=November 15, 2012 }}</ref>
** On 31 October, the [[JT-60|JT-60U]] tokamak achieves '''the first [[Fusion energy gain factor#Extrapolated breakeven|extrapolated breakeven]]''' at ''Q''{{sub|DT}}{{sup|eq}} = 1.05.
** The [[Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty]] is signed, ending weapons testing by almost all nuclear states. ICF experiments and supercomputer simulation gain funding under the US [[Stockpile stewardship|Science-Based Stockpile Stewardship]] and similar programs.
* '''1997'''
** The [[Joint European Torus|JET]] tokamak in the UK produces 16 MW of fusion power - this remains the world record for fusion power until 2022 when JET sets an even higher record. Four megawatts of [[alpha particle]] self-heating was achieved.
** LLNL study compared projected costs of power from ICF and other fusion approaches to the projected future costs of existing energy sources.
** [[National Ignition Facility]]: Groundbreaking ceremony
* '''1998'''
** The [[JT-60|JT-60U]] tokamak achieves an [[Fusion energy gain factor#Extrapolated breakeven|extrapolated breakeven]] of ''Q''{{sub|DT}}{{sup|eq}} = 1.25, the current world record.
** Results of European-based study of heavy ion driven fusion power system (HIDIF, GSI-98-06) incorporates telescoping beams of multiple isotopic species. This technique multiplies the 6-D phase space usable for the design of HIF drivers.{{Citation needed|date=March 2025}}
* '''1999'''
** The United States withdraws from the [[ITER]] project.
** The [[Small Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak|START]] experiment is succeeded by [[Mega Ampere Spherical Tokamak|MAST]].

==2000s==
* '''2001'''
** [[National Ignition Facility]]: Facility construction completed, laser construction begins
** Negotiations on the Joint Implementation of [[ITER]] begin between Canada, countries represented by the [[European Union]], Japan and Russia.
* '''2002'''
** Claims and counter-claims are published regarding [[bubble fusion]], in which a table-top apparatus was reported as producing small-scale fusion in a liquid undergoing [[cavitation|acoustic cavitation]]. Like cold fusion (see 1989), it is later dismissed.
** [[European Union]] proposes [[Cadarache]] in France and [[Vandellos]] in Spain as candidate sites for [[ITER]] while Japan proposes [[Rokkasho]].
* '''2003'''
** The United States rejoins the [[ITER]] project with China and [[Republic of Korea]] also joining. Canada withdraws.
** [[Cadarache]] in France is selected as the European Candidate Site for [[ITER]].
** In April, [[Sandia National Laboratories]]' [[Z Pulsed Power Facility|Z machine]] produces its first DD fusion neutrons.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sandia National Laboratories — News Release — Z produces fusion neutrons |url=http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2003/nuclear-power/Zneutrons.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030603190249/http://www.sandia.gov/news-center/news-releases/2003/nuclear-power/Zneutrons.html |archive-date=3 June 2003 |access-date=17 January 2022 |website=www.sandia.gov}}</ref>
** [[National Ignition Facility]]: First laser pulse (10.4 kJ IR, 4 beams).
* '''2004'''
** The United States drops its own ITER-scale tokamak project, [[Fusion Ignition Research Experiment|FIRE]], recognising an inability to match EU progress.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mckee |first=Maggie |title=US to halt nuclear fusion project |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn6225-us-to-halt-nuclear-fusion-project/ |access-date=2022-10-04 |website=New Scientist |language=en-US}}</ref>
* '''2005'''
** In August, '''the first [[proton-boron fusion]] via inertial confinement''' is reported.<ref name="d135">{{cite journal |last=Belyaev |first=V. S. |last2=Matafonov |first2=A. P. |last3=Vinogradov |first3=V. I. |last4=Krainov |first4=V. P. |last5=Lisitsa |first5=V. S. |last6=Roussetski |first6=A. S. |last7=Ignatyev |first7=G. N. |last8=Andrianov |first8=V. P. |date=2005-08-10 |title=Observation of neutronless fusion reactions in picosecond laser plasmas |journal=Physical Review E |publisher=American Physical Society (APS) |volume=72 |issue=2 |page= |doi=10.1103/physreve.72.026406 |issn=1539-3755}}</ref>
** Following final negotiations between the EU and Japan, [[ITER]] chooses [[Cadarache]] over [[Rokkasho]] for the site of the reactor. In concession, Japan is able to host the related materials research facility and granted rights to fill 20% of the project's research posts while providing 10% of the funding.
** [[National Ignition Facility]]: First eight-beam laser pulse (152.8 kJ IR). It becomes the world's largest laser.
* '''2006'''
** China's [[Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak]] is completed, the '''first tokamak to toroidal and poloidal superconducting magnets'''.
* '''2009'''
** [[National Ignition Facility]]: On February 26, all 192 beams are fired for the first time.
** [[National Ignition Facility]]: In June, the first laser shots are fired into a hohlraum.
** Ricardo Betti, the third Under Secretary, responsible for Nuclear Energy, testifies before Congress: "IFE [ICF for energy production] has no home".

==2010s==
{{more citations needed|section|date=January 2018}}
* '''2010'''
** HIF-2010 Symposium in Darmstadt, Germany. Robert J Burke presented on Single Pass (Heavy Ion Fusion) HIF and Charles Helsley made a presentation on the commercialization of HIF within the decade.
* '''2011'''
** May 23–26, Workshop for Accelerators for Heavy Ion Fusion at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, presentation by Robert J. Burke on "Single Pass Heavy Ion Fusion". The Accelerator Working Group publishes recommendations supporting moving RF accelerator driven HIF toward commercialization.<ref>{{cite web |date=April 2011 |page=11 |title=Workshop on Accelerators for Heavy Ion Fusion: Summary Report of the Workshop |url=https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1055806 |author-last1=Seidl |author-first1=P. A. |author-last2=Barnard |author-first2=J. J.}}</ref>
* '''2012'''
** Stephen Slutz & Roger Vesey of Sandia National Labs publish a paper in Physical Review Letters presenting a computer simulation of the [[MagLIF]] concept showing it can produce high gain. According to the simulation, a 70 Mega Amp Z-pinch facility in combination with a Laser may be able to produce a spectacular energy return of 1000 times the expended energy. A 60 MA facility would produce a 100x yield.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Slutz|first1=Stephen A.|last2=Vesey|first2=Roger A.|title=High-Gain Magnetized Inertial Fusion|journal=Phys. Rev. Lett.|date=12 January 2012|volume=108|issue=2|doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.025003|bibcode = 2012PhRvL.108b5003S|pmid=22324693|page=025003|doi-access=free}}</ref>
** [[Joint European Torus|JET]] announces a major breakthrough in controlling instabilities in a fusion plasma. [http://phys.org/news/2012-01-closer-nuclear-fusion.html?=y One step closer to controlling nuclear fusion]
** In August Robert J. Burke presents updates to the [[Single Pass RF driver|SPRFD]] [[Heavy ion Fusion|HIF]] process<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Burke|first1=Robert|title=The Single Pass RF Driver: Final beam compression|journal=Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment|date=1 January 2014|volume=733|pages=158–167|doi=10.1016/j.nima.2013.05.080|bibcode = 2014NIMPA.733..158B }}</ref> and Charles Helsley presents the Economics of SPRFD<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Helsley|first1=Charles E.|last2=Burke|first2 =Robert J.| doi=10.1016/j.nima.2013.05.095 | volume=733 | title=Economic viability of large-scale fusion systems | journal=Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment | pages=51–56|bibcode = 2014NIMPA.733...51H |date=January 2014}}</ref> at the 19th International HIF Symposium at [[Berkeley, California]]. Industry was there in support of ion generation for SPRFD. The Fusion Power Corporation SPRFD patent is granted in Russia.
* '''2013'''
** China's [[EAST (tokamak)|EAST]] tokamak test reactor achieves a record confinement time of 30 seconds for plasma in the [[high-confinement mode]] (H-mode), thanks to improvements in heat dispersal from tokamak walls. This is an improvement of an order of magnitude with respect to state-of-the-art reactors.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/science/2013/11/fusion-reactor-achieves-tenfold-increase-in-plasma-confinement-time/|title=Fusion reactor achieves tenfold increase in plasma confinement time |website=Ars Technica |date=November 18, 2013}}</ref>
** Construction of [[JT-60#JT-60SA|JT-60SA]] begins in January.
* '''2014'''
** US Scientists at [[National Ignition Facility|NIF]] successfully generate more energy from fusion reactions than the energy absorbed by the nuclear fuel.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Herrmann|first1=Mark|title=Plasma physics: A promising advance in nuclear fusion|journal=Nature|date=20 February 2014|volume=506|issue=7488|doi=10.1038/nature13057|bibcode = 2014Natur.506..302H|pages=302–303|pmid=24522529|doi-access=free}}</ref>
** [[Phoenix Nuclear Labs]] announces the sale of a high-yield neutron generator that could sustain 5×10<sup>11</sup> [[deuterium]] fusion reactions per second over a 24-hour period.<ref>{{cite web|year=2013|title=The Alectryon High Yield Neutron Generator|url=http://phoenixnuclearlabs.com/product/high-yield-neutron-generator/|publisher=Phoenix Nuclear Labs}}</ref>
** On 9 October 2014, fusion research bodies from European Union member states and Switzerland signed an agreement to cement European collaboration on fusion research and EUROfusion, the European Consortium for the Development of Fusion Energy, was born.<ref>{{cite web |title=About EUROfusion |url=https://www.euro-fusion.org/about-eurofusion/ |website=euro-fusion.org}}</ref>
* '''2015'''
** Germany conducts the first plasma discharge in [[Wendelstein 7-X]], a large-scale stellarator capable of steady-state plasma confinement under fusion conditions.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2015/12/german-nuclear-fusion-stellarator-test.html|title=NextBigFuture.com - German Nuclear Fusion Stellarator test reactor has been started|website=NextBigFuture.com|access-date=14 November 2018}}</ref>
** In January the [[polywell]] is presented at [[Microsoft Research]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Microsoft Research – Emerging Technology, Computer, and Software Research|url=https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/|website=Microsoft Research}}</ref>
** In August, [[MIT]] announces the [[ARC fusion reactor]], a compact tokamak using [[rare-earth barium-copper oxide]] (REBCO) superconducting tapes to produce high-magnetic field coils that it claims produce comparable magnetic field strength in a smaller configuration than other designs.<ref>{{cite news|last=Chandler|first=David L.|date=10 August 2015|title=A small, modular, efficient fusion plant|work=MIT News|publisher=MIT News Office|url=http://newsoffice.mit.edu/2015/small-modular-efficient-fusion-plant-0810}}</ref>
* '''2016'''
** The Wendelstein 7-X produces the device's first hydrogen plasma.<ref>{{cite web|title=Wendelstein W7-X starting its experimental journey|url=http://www.ipp.mpg.de/4010154/02_16/w7x|publisher=ipp.mpg.de|location=Germany}}</ref>
* '''2017'''
** China's [[EAST (tokamak)|EAST]] tokamak test reactor achieves a stable 101.2-second steady-state high confinement plasma, setting a world record in long-pulse H-mode operation on the night of July 3.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://phys.org/news/2017-07-china-artificial-sun-world-steady-state.html |title=China's 'artificial sun' sets world record with 100 second steady-state high performance plasma |publisher=Phys.org |date=July 6, 2017}}</ref>
** [[Helion Energy]]'s fifth-generation plasma machine goes into operation, seeking to achieve plasma density of 20 Tesla and fusion temperatures.<ref name=":22">{{Cite web|last=Wang|first=Brian|date=August 1, 2018|title=Nuclear Fusion Updated project reviews|url=https://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/08/nuclear-fusion-updated-project-reviews.html|access-date=2018-08-03|website=www.nextbigfuture.com|language=en-US}}</ref>
** UK company [[Tokamak Energy]]'s ST40 fusion reactor generates first plasma.<ref>{{Cite web|last=MacDonald|first=Fiona|title=The UK Just Switched on an Ambitious Fusion Reactor - And It Works|url=https://www.sciencealert.com/the-uk-has-just-switch-on-its-tokamak-nuclear-fusion-reactor|access-date=2019-07-03|website=ScienceAlert|date=May 2017 |language=en-gb}}</ref>
** [[TAE Technologies]] announces that the Norman reactor had achieved plasma.<ref>{{cite news|last=Boyle|first=Alan|date=10 July 2017|title=With Paul Allen's Backing, Tri Alpha Energy Revs Up 'Norman' Device for Fusion Research|work=GeekWire|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2017/paul-allens-backing-tri-alpha-energy-revs-norman-device-fusion-research/}}</ref>
** On March 7, Japan's [[Large Helical Device]] completes its first deuterium plasma experiment, marking '''the first fusion in a stellarator device'''.<ref name="l881">{{cite web |last=Morisaki |first=T. |date=2018 |title=Overview of the First Deuterium Experiment in LHD |url=https://inis.iaea.org/search/50050324 |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=INIS}}</ref>
* '''2018'''
** Energy corporation [[Eni]] announces a $50 million investment in start-up [[Commonwealth Fusion Systems]], to commercialize [[ARC fusion reactor|ARC]] technology via the [[SPARC (tokamak)|SPARC]] test reactor in collaboration with MIT.<ref>{{cite news|date=13 April 2018|title=Italy's Eni defies sceptics, may up stake in nuclear fusion project|newspaper=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuclearpower-fusion-eni/italys-eni-defies-skeptics-may-up-stake-in-nuclear-fusion-project-idUSKBN1HK1JJ}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=3 April 2018|title=MIT Aims to Harness Fusion Power Within 15 years|url=https://www.seeker.com/energy/mit-aims-to-harness-fusion-power-within-15-years}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=9 March 2018|title=MIT Aims To Bring Nuclear Fusion To The Market In 10 Years|url=http://www.wbur.org/bostonomix/2018/03/09/mit-nuclear-fusion}}</ref>
** MIT scientists formulate a theoretical means to remove the excess heat from compact nuclear fusion reactors via larger and longer [[divertor]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.mit.edu/2018/solving-excess-heat-fusion-power-plants-1009|title=A new path to solving a longstanding fusion challenge|last=Chandler|first=David L.|date=2018-10-09|website=MIT News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190217203103/https://news.mit.edu/2018/solving-excess-heat-fusion-power-plants-1009|archive-date=2019-02-17|access-date=2019-02-17}}</ref>
** [[General Fusion]] begins developing a 70% scale demo system to be completed around 2023.<ref name=":22"/>
** TAE Technologies announces its reactor has reached a high temperature of nearly 20 million °C.<ref>{{cite news|title=TAE Technologies Pushes Plasma Machine to a New High on the Nuclear Fusion Frontier|work=GeekWire|url=https://www.geekwire.com/2018/tae-technologies-pushes-plasma-machine-new-high-fusion-frontier/}}</ref>
** The Fusion Industry Association founded as an initiative in 2018, is the unified voice of the fusion industry, working to transform the energy system with commercially viable fusion power.<ref>{{cite web |title=Fusion Industry Accosiation |url=https://www.fusionindustryassociation.org/about-fusion-industry |website=fusionindustryassociation.org|date=27 March 2024 }}</ref>
* '''2019'''
** The United Kingdom announces a planned £200-million (US$248-million) investment to produce a design for the [[Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production]] (STEP) fusion facility around 2040.<ref>{{Cite web|date=October 22, 2019|title=UK wants to build world's first fusion power plant 20 years from now|url=https://www.zmescience.com/science/uk-wants-to-build-worlds-first-fusion-power-plant-20-years-from-now/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gibney|first=Elizabeth|date=2019-10-11|title=UK hatches plan to build world's first fusion power plant|url=http://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03039-9|journal=Nature|language=en|doi=10.1038/d41586-019-03039-9|pmid=33037417|s2cid=208833905}}</ref>

== 2020s ==
* '''2020'''
** Assembly of [[ITER]], which has been under construction for years, commences.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rincon|first=Paul|date=2020-07-28|title=Largest nuclear fusion project begins assembly|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-53573294|access-date=2020-08-17}}</ref>
** The Chinese experimental [[nuclear fusion]] reactor [[HL-2M]] is turned on for the first time, achieving its first <!--confirmed -->plasma discharge.<ref>{{cite news |title=China turns on nuclear-powered 'artificial sun' (Update) |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-12-china-nuclear-powered-artificial-sun.html |access-date=15 January 2021 |work=phys.org |language=en}}</ref>
** On November 1, the [[National Ignition Facility]] records '''the first burning plasma achieved in a laboratory'''.'''<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Zylstra |first1=A. B. |last2=Hurricane |first2=O. A. |last3=Callahan |first3=D. A.|author3-link=Debra Callahan |last4=Kritcher |first4=A. L. |author-link4=Andrea Lynn Kritcher |last5=Ralph |first5=J. E. |last6=Robey |first6=H. F. |last7=Ross |first7=J. S. |last8=Young |first8=C. V. |last9=Baker |first9=K. L. |last10=Casey |first10=D. T. |last11=Döppner |first11=T. |date=Jan 2022 |title=Burning plasma achieved in inertial fusion |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=601 |issue=7894 |pages=542–548 |bibcode=2022Natur.601..542Z |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04281-w |issn=1476-4687 |pmc=8791836 |pmid=35082418}}</ref>'''
* '''2021'''
** On August 8, the [[National Ignition Facility]] records '''the first experiment to surpass the [[Lawson criterion]]'''.'''<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Indirect Drive ICF Collaboration |last2=Abu-Shawareb |first2=H. |last3=Acree |first3=R. |last4=Adams |first4=P. |last5=Adams |first5=J. |last6=Addis |first6=B. |last7=Aden |first7=R. |last8=Adrian |first8=P. |last9=Afeyan |first9=B. B. |last10=Aggleton |first10=M. |last11=Aghaian |first11=L. |last12=Aguirre |first12=A. |last13=Aikens |first13=D. |last14=Akre |first14=J. |last15=Albert |first15=F. |date=August 8, 2022 |title=Lawson Criterion for Ignition Exceeded in an Inertial Fusion Experiment |url=https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.075001 |journal=Physical Review Letters |volume=129 |issue=7 |page=075001 |bibcode=2022PhRvL.129g5001A |doi=10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.075001 |pmid=36018710 |s2cid=250321131 |hdl-access=free |hdl=10044/1/99300}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Kritcher |first1=A. L. |author-link=Andrea Lynn Kritcher |last2=Zylstra |first2=A. B. |last3=Callahan |first3=D. A.|author3-link=Debra Callahan |last4=Hurricane |first4=O. A. |last5=Weber |first5=C. R. |last6=Clark |first6=D. S. |last7=Young |first7=C. V. |last8=Ralph |first8=J. E. |last9=Casey |first9=D. T. |last10=Pak |first10=A. |last11=Landen |first11=O. L. |last12=Bachmann |first12=B. |last13=Baker |first13=K. L. |last14=Berzak Hopkins |first14=L. |last15=Bhandarkar |first15=S. D. |date=August 8, 2022 |title=Design of an inertial fusion experiment exceeding the Lawson criterion for ignition |journal=Physical Review E |volume=106 |issue=2 |page=025201 |bibcode=2022PhRvE.106b5201K |doi=10.1103/PhysRevE.106.025201 |pmid=36110025 |s2cid=251457864 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zylstra |first1=A. B. |last2=Kritcher |first2=A. L. |last3=Hurricane |first3=O. A. |last4=Callahan |first4=D. A. |author4-link=Debra Callahan|last5=Ralph |first5=J. E. |last6=Casey |first6=D. T. |last7=Pak |first7=A. |last8=Landen |first8=O. L. |last9=Bachmann |first9=B. |last10=Baker |first10=K. L. |last11=Berzak Hopkins |first11=L. |last12=Bhandarkar |first12=S. D. |last13=Biener |first13=J. |last14=Bionta |first14=R. M. |last15=Birge |first15=N. W. |date=August 8, 2022 |title=Experimental achievement and signatures of ignition at the National Ignition Facility |url=https://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.106.025202 |journal=Physical Review E |volume=106 |issue=2 |page=025202 |bibcode=2022PhRvE.106b5202Z |doi=10.1103/PhysRevE.106.025202 |osti=1959535 |pmid=36109932 |s2cid=251451927}}</ref>'''
** <small>[{{tooltip|2=Category for items about milestone achievements|Record}}]</small> China's [[Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak]] sustains a high-temperature plasma for 101 seconds (120 million °C).<ref>{{cite news |title=Chinese 'Artificial Sun' experimental fusion reactor sets world record for superheated plasma time |url=https://nation.com.pk/29-May-2021/chinese-artificial-sun-experimental-fusion-reactor-sets-world-record-for-superheated-plasma-time |date=May 29, 2021 |work=The Nation|access-date=May 31, 2021 }}</ref>
** <small>[{{tooltip|2=Category for items about milestone achievements|Record}}]</small> The [[National Ignition Facility]] achieves ''[[Fusion energy gain factor|Q]]'' = 0.70.<ref>{{cite web|date=18 August 2021|title=NIF Experiment Puts Researchers at Threshold of Fusion Ignition |url=https://lasers.llnl.gov/news/nif-experiment-puts-researchers-threshold-fusion-ignition|access-date=28 August 2021|work=National Ignition Facility}}</ref>
** <small>[{{tooltip|2=Category for items about milestone achievements|Record}}]</small> China's [[Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak]] sustains a high-temperature plasma for 1,056 seconds (70 million °C).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/science/article/3161780/chinas-artificial-sun-hits-new-high-clean-energy-boost|title = China's 'artificial sun' hits new high in clean energy boost|date = January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Yirka |first1=Bob |title=Chinese tokamak facility achieves 120-million-degree C for 1,056 seconds |url=https://phys.org/news/2022-01-chinese-tokamak-facility-million-degree-seconds.html |access-date=19 January 2022 |work=phys.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=1,056 Seconds, another world record for EAST |url=http://english.ipp.cas.cn/syxw/202112/t20211231_295485.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220103170927/english.ipp.cas.cn/syxw/202112/t20211231_295485.html |archive-date=2022-01-03  |publisher=Institute Of Plasma Physics Chinese Academy Of Sciences}}</ref>
* '''2022'''
** <small>[{{tooltip|2=Category for items about milestone achievements|Record}}]</small> The [[Joint European Torus]] in Oxford, UK, produces a 59 MJ pulse (5 seconds).<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-02-09|title=Oxford's JET lab smashes nuclear fusion energy output record |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-60312633|access-date=2022-02-09|website=BBC News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Nuclear fusion heat record a 'huge step' in quest for new energy source |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/09/nuclear-fusion-heat-record-a-huge-step-in-quest-for-new-energy-source |access-date=22 March 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=9 February 2022 |language=en}}</ref>
** <small>[{{tooltip|2=Category for items about milestone achievements|Record}}]</small> On August 8, the [[National Ignition Facility]] records '''the first laboratory [[Fusion ignition|plasma ignition]]'''. The [[Fusion energy gain factor|energy gain factor]] was ''Q'' = 0.72, the ratio of laser beam input to fusion output.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-08-08|title=Three peer-reviewed papers highlight scientific results of National Ignition Facility record yield shot |url=https://www.llnl.gov/news/three-peer-reviewed-papers-highlight-scientific-results-national-ignition-facility-record|access-date=2022-08-11|website=LLNL.GOV|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-08-12|title=Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Confirmed: California Team Achieved Ignition |url=https://www.newsweek.com/nuclear-fusion-energy-milestone-ignition-confirmed-california-1733238|access-date=2022-08-11|website=Newsweek|language=en}}</ref>
** <small>[{{tooltip|2=Category for items about milestone achievements|Record}}]</small> On December 5, the [[National Ignition Facility]] records '''the first experiment to surpass [[scientific breakeven]]''', achieving an [[Fusion energy gain factor|energy gain factor]] of ''Q'' = 1.54, producing more fusion energy than the laser beam delivered to the target. Laser efficiency is on the order of 1%.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-12-13|title=Nuclear-Fusion Energy Breakthrough Reported by Scientists at U.S. Lab |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/nuclear-fusion-energy-breakthrough-reported-by-scientists-at-u-s-lab-11670944595|access-date=2022-12-13|website=[[WSJ]]|language=en}}</ref>
* '''2023'''
** <small>[{{tooltip|2=Category for items about milestone achievements|Record}}]</small> On February 15, 2023, [[Wendelstein 7-X]] reached a new milestone: Power plasma with gigajoule energy turnover generated for eight minutes.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-02-22|title=Wendelstein 7-X reaches milestone|url=https://www.ipp.mpg.de/5322229/01_23|access-date=2022-02-22|website=Max Planck Institute|language=en}}</ref>
** On February 21, 2023, '''the first proton-boron fusion via magnetic confinement''' is reported at Japan's [[Large Helical Device]]. <ref name="p495">{{cite journal |last=Magee |first=R. M. |last2=Ogawa |first2=K. |last3=Tajima |first3=T. |last4=Allfrey |first4=I. |last5=Gota |first5=H. |last6=McCarroll |first6=P. |last7=Ohdachi |first7=S. |last8=Isobe |first8=M. |last9=Kamio |first9=S. |last10=Klumper |first10=V. |last11=Nuga |first11=H. |last12=Shoji |first12=M. |last13=Ziaei |first13=S. |last14=Binderbauer |first14=M. W. |last15=Osakabe |first15=M. |date=2023-02-21 |title=First measurements of p11B fusion in a magnetically confined plasma |journal=Nature Communications |publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC |volume=14 |issue=1 |page= |doi=10.1038/s41467-023-36655-1 |issn=2041-1723 |doi-access=free|pmc=9941502 }}</ref>
** [[JT-60#JT-60SA|JT-60SA]] achieves first plasma in October, making it the largest operational superconducting tokamak in the world.<ref name="first">{{cite web |date=24 October 2023 |title=First plasma 23 October |url=https://www.jt60sa.org/wp/first-plasma-23-october/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231027211642/https://www.jt60sa.org/wp/first-plasma-23-october/ |archive-date=27 October 2023 |access-date=15 November 2023 |website=JT-60SA}}</ref>
** On 18 December, [[Joint European Torus]] pulses its final plasma before decommissioning, after over 40 years of operation.
* '''2024'''
**In June, the [[HH70]] tokamak, built by the Chinese company Energy Singularity, achieves first plasma. It is '''the first fusion device to exclusively use [[High-temperature superconductivity|high-temperature superconducting]] magnets'''.<ref name="v015">{{cite journal |last=Li |first=Z.Y. |last2=Pan |first2=Z.C. |last3=Zhang |first3=Q.J. |last4=Zhu |first4=K.P. |last5=Zhang |first5=C. |last6=Zhang |first6=Z.W. |last7=Dong |first7=G. |last8=Ye |first8=Y.M. |last9=Yang |first9=Z. |year=2024 |title=Development and construction of magnet system for world’s first full high temperature superconducting tokamak |journal=Superconductivity |publisher=Elsevier BV |volume=12 |page=100137 |doi=10.1016/j.supcon.2024.100137 |issn=2772-8307 |doi-access=free}}</ref>
**The [[Korean Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research]] sustains a high-temperature plasma for 48 seconds (100 million °C).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Han |first1=H. |last2=Park |first2=S. J. |last3=Sung |first3=C. |last4=Kang |first4=J. |last5=Lee |first5=Y. H. |last6=Chung |first6=J. |last7=Hahm |first7=T. S. |last8=Kim |first8=B. |last9=Park |first9=J.-K. |last10=Bak |first10=J. G. |last11=Cha |first11=M. S. |last12=Choi |first12=G. J. |last13=Choi |first13=M. J. |last14=Gwak |first14=J. |last15=Hahn |first15=S. H. |last16=Jang |first16=J. |last17=Lee |first17=K. C. |last18=Kim |first18=J. H. |last19=Kim |first19=S. K. |last20=Kim |first20=W. C. |last21=Ko |first21=J. |last22=Ko |first22=W. H. |last23=Lee |first23=C. Y. |last24=Lee |first24=J. H. |last25=Lee |first25=J. H. |last26=Lee |first26=J. K. |last27=Lee |first27=J. P. |last28=Lee |first28=K. D. |last29=Park |first29=Y. S. |last30=Seo |first30=J. |last31=Yang |first31=S. M. |last32=Yoon |first32=S. W. |last33=Na |first33=Y.-S. |title=A sustained high-temperature fusion plasma regime facilitated by fast ions |journal=Nature |date=8 September 2022 |volume=609 |issue=7926 |pages=269–275 |doi=10.1038/s41586-022-05008-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kfe.re.kr |date=20 March 2024 |title=핵융합 플라스마 장기간 운전기술 확보 청신호, 보도자료, KSTAR연구본부 |language =ko}}</ref>

==References==
===Citations===
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |first=Stephen |last=Dean |title=Search for the Ultimate Energy Source |publisher=Springer |date=2013 }}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031216103922/http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/on-line/fusion/famous.asp Fusion experiments from the British Science Museum]
* International Fusion Research Council, [https://iopscience.iop.org/issue/0029-5515/45/10A Status report on fusion research], ''Nuclear Fusion'' '''45''':10A, October 2005.

{{Fusion power}}

[[Category:Physics timelines|Nuclear fusion]]
[[Category:Technology timelines|Nuclear fusion]]
[[Category:Nuclear fusion]]