The National Ignition Facility (NIF) recently completed its first integrated ignition experiment, which marks the beginning of its next phase on the way toward fusion ignition tests. NIF is a National Nuclear Security Administration program and a partnership between Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Laboratory for Laser Energetics at the University of Rochester, Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, and General Atomics.
The test consisted of a 192-beam laser system that fired 1 megajoule of laser energy into its first cryogenically layered capsule. The test verified that the complex systems involved were all operating successfully. A total of 26 target diagnostics participated in the shot.
“From both a system integration and from a physics point of view, this experiment was outstanding,” said Ed Moss, Director of the National Ignition Facility. “This was a great moment in the 50-year history of inertial confinement fusion. It represents significant progress in our ability to field complex experiments in suppotr of our NNSA Stockpile Stewardship, Department of Defense, fundamental science and energy missions.”
[Source: R&D Magazine]
