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no, it specifically didn't. If it had ignited, it would be enourmous news because the age of fusion and clean energy has begun. It didn't ignite, it's "close to
by hannasanarion 6y ago
no, it specifically didn't. If it had ignited, it would be enourmous news because the age of fusion and clean energy has begun. It didn't ignite, it's "close to self-heating", which is progress, but not ignition, and they want funds to double their laser power to actually make it happen.
- harimau777 6y agoDo you know what the challenge in these sorts of thing are? For example, do we already know how to double the laser power if we just had the resources or would there need to be research on how to build the laser itself?
- ThomPete 6y agoOne of the biggest challenges with fusion is to be able to contain plasma as far as I understand. Magnets seem to be the way they want to do it but I am a layman so take what I say with a grain of salt.
- deepnotderp 6y agoThis is inertial confinement fusion, not magnetic confinement fusion like you're thinking.
- ThomPete 6y agoThanks for clairfying.
- hannasanarion 6y agoMagnetic confinement is needed for the continuous-reaction donuts like French scientists are building. The NIF strategy is more like an internal combustion engine: load fuel, start reaction, capture energy, remove byproducts, start over. The lasers are acting like spark plugs, triggering the fuel to release all its energy at the top of each cycle. In other words, the French strategy is "build a miniature sun", the American strategy is "build a miniature hydrogen bomb". In theory, it should be easier, hydrogen bombs already exist after all, but to trigger the reaction, you need to find a way to squeeze a lot of energy into a really small space to make the hygrogen atoms kiss, and you can't use the traditional method of "put a plutonium bomb next to it" for obvious reasons.
- ThomPete 6y agoThanks for clarifying. And does the physics behind such a construct ensure it wont explode or run amok?