For all the talk about fusion energy research, much of the work done at the national ignition facility is related to the nuclear physics end of the "stockpile s

For all the talk about fusion energy research, much of the work done at the national ignition facility is related to the nuclear physics end of the "stockpile stewardship" problem. I have often heard that aside from obtaining the material, the design challenges are mostly associated with conventional chemical high explosives and directing the shockwave in a controlled way. On the other hand, there is no test ban on conventional high explosives so its surprising so few resources were allocated to that considering the billions put into replacing nuclear testing.