3 ms·

This is fantastic. And I agree with the fellow mentioning direct drive as better. If you can get the same results using direct drive, you’ll have a sizable ener

This is fantastic. And I agree with the fellow mentioning direct drive as better. If you can get the same results using direct drive, you’ll have a sizable energy gain above what the input energy was, perhaps enough to drive a (multiple stage) heat engine and produce net electricity. Anyway, I also want to point out that laser inertial confinement fusion bears a not-coincidental (some of the same codes and plasma physics techniques developed for laser fusion were used by Lawrence Livermore and others to develop EUV) resemblance to the extreme UV light sources sold by ASML and used for the highest end computer chips today. Compare the LIFE fusion reactor concept (based on an evolution of the NIF) with the EUV light source of droplets of tin being hit with a pulsed laser: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Inertial_Fusion_Energy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Inertial_Fusion_Energy EUV light source: https://youtu.be/IattxYrc9Go https://youtu.be/IattxYrc9Go (The Hohlrahm of the National Ignition Facility, surrounding the tritium deuterium fuel pellet, is acting like the tin droplet of the EUV light source, converting longer wavelength pulsed laser light to (near) X-Rays.)

jeffbee 5y ago
NIF isn't supposed to achieve net power generation. It's a defense research facility which is intended to test nuclear weapons technology without violating weapons testing bans.
- Robotbeat 5y ago
  That is not quite correct. Yes, its primary purpose is “stockpile management,” but it’s not exclusively that. It was ALSO sold as a facility to study fusion power generation, hence this announcement. LIFE was a proposed follow-on project to NIF that would be focused on power generation demonstration (high repetition rates, etc). It never went anywhere and work on it effectively stopped around 2013 or so.
  - leephillips 5y ago
    But the comment you’re replying to is exactly correct. NIF is not LIFE. Ignition is far from net power generation, by a few orders of magnitude.
- Roboprog 5y ago
  I picked up on that angle as well. “Ignition” isn’t about generating electricity. It’s about making fusion bombs which don’t emit neutrons or other radiation (from a fission trigger) while the device is in storage. So, not primarily a power generation design like a tokamak would be.

jeffbee 5y ago

NIF isn't supposed to achieve net power generation. It's a defense research facility which is intended to test nuclear weapons technology without violating weapons testing bans.

Robotbeat 5y ago
That is not quite correct. Yes, its primary purpose is “stockpile management,” but it’s not exclusively that. It was ALSO sold as a facility to study fusion power generation, hence this announcement. LIFE was a proposed follow-on project to NIF that would be focused on power generation demonstration (high repetition rates, etc). It never went anywhere and work on it effectively stopped around 2013 or so.
- leephillips 5y ago
  But the comment you’re replying to is exactly correct. NIF is not LIFE. Ignition is far from net power generation, by a few orders of magnitude.
Roboprog 5y ago
I picked up on that angle as well. “Ignition” isn’t about generating electricity. It’s about making fusion bombs which don’t emit neutrons or other radiation (from a fission trigger) while the device is in storage. So, not primarily a power generation design like a tokamak would be.