3 ms·
NIF is funded alright, just not by the DoE. The energy research has always been a facade for the facility’s actual purpose.
by willis936 6y ago
NIF is funded alright, just not by the DoE. The energy research has always been a facade for the facility’s actual purpose.
- vilhelm_s 6y agoFrom the NIF website, > The facility is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and is a key element of NNSA’s science-based Stockpile Stewardship Program to maintain the reliability and safety of the U.S. nuclear deterrent without full-scale testing. Most of the Department of Energy budget goes towards nuclear weapons, although they also do some work on civilian nuclear power and pure science. The name was always a bit of a euphemism.
- rsfern 6y agoStockpile stewardship is explicitly one of DOEs purposes, and has been since the Manhattan project really. Weapons research is one of the top level missions of LLNL [0], where the NIF is located. I guess it’s controversial to some, but it’s not like it’s supposed to be a secret or anything. [0]: https://www.llnl.gov/missions https://www.llnl.gov/missions