Submitted by i_owe_them13 t3_zpax7p in askscience
antonivs t1_j0tkr0n wrote
Reply to comment by Captain-Barracuda in How do X-rays “compress” a nuclear fusion pellet? by i_owe_them13
As other comments have pointed out, you can’t.
It’s important to notice that this means that the term “ignition” here is misleading. The term is being used to imply that this means some physically important threshold has been reached, but that’s not true.
“Ignition” in this context is simply an arbitrary name for a symbolic point on the reaction efficiency chart. It has no physical meaning. No actual breakthrough in fusion physics has occurred, simply an improvement in efficiency.
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