Advances in Inertial Confinement Fusion at the National Ignition Facility (NIF)

Conference · Thu Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2009

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fusengdes.2009.11.006· OSTI ID:968155

Moses, E

The 192-beam National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, CA, is now operational and conducting experiments. NIF, the flagship facility of the U.S. Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) Program, will achieve high-energy-density conditions never previously obtained in the laboratory - temperatures over 100 million K, densities of 1,000 g/cm3, and pressures exceeding 100 billion atmospheres. Such conditions exist naturally only in the interiors of the stars and during thermonuclear burn. Demonstration of ignition and thermonuclear burn in the laboratory is a major NIF goal. To date, the NIF laser has demonstrated all pulse shape, beam quality, energy, and other specifications required to meet the ignition challenge. On March 10, 2009, the NIF laser delivered 1.1 MJ of ultraviolet laser energy to target chamber center, approximately 30 times more energy than any previous facility. The ignition program at NIF is the National Ignition Campaign (NIC), a national collaboration for ignition experimentation with participation from General Atomics, LLNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and the University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). The achievement of ignition at NIF will demonstrate the scientific feasibility of ICF and focus worldwide attention on fusion as a viable energy option. A particular energy concept under investigation is the LIFE (Laser Inertial Fusion Energy) scheme. The LIFE engine is inherently safe, minimizes proliferation concerns associated with the nuclear fuel cycle, and can provide a sustainable carbon-free energy generation solution in the 21st century. This talk will describe NIF and its potential as a user facility and an experimental platform for high-energy-density science, NIC, and the LIFE approach for clean, sustainable energy.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE
• DOE Contract Number: W-7405-ENG-48
• OSTI ID: 968155
• Report Number(s): LLNL-CONF-418579; TRN: US0904610
• Resource Relation: Journal Volume: 85; Journal Issue: 7-9; Conference: Presented at: 9th Internat?l Symposium on Fusion Nuclear Technology, Dalian, China, Oct 11 - Oct 16, 2009
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
ENGINES
IGNITION
INERTIAL CONFINEMENT
LASERS
NUCLEAR FUELS
PROLIFERATION
SHAPE
SPECIFICATIONS
TARGET CHAMBERS
THERMONUCLEAR REACTORS
US NATIONAL IGNITION FACILITY