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Recently the National Ignition Facility (NIF) used a powerful laser in conducting successful fusion tests. Previously scientists had theorized that using lasers for fusion energy would produce plasma that would interrupt the fusion process, but this appears to be less of an issue than first believed.

A major hurdle to producing fusion energy using lasers has been swept aside, results in a new report show.

The controlled fusion of atoms - creating conditions like those in our Sun - has long been touted as a possible revolutionary energy source.

However, there have been doubts about the use of powerful lasers for fusion energy because the "plasma" they create could interrupt the fusion.

An article in Science showed the plasma is far less of a problem than expected.

The report is based on the first experiments from the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in the US that used all 192 of its laser beams.

Along the way, the experiments smashed the record for the highest energy from a laser - by a factor of 20.

(Source: BBC, National Ignition Facility (NIF))