4 ms·

From their website: > [We] conduct one-of-a-kind experiments that help ensure the nation’s security through stockpile stewardship, make important advances towa

From their website: > [We] conduct one-of-a-kind experiments that help ensure the nation’s security through stockpile stewardship, make important advances toward achieving fusion ignition in the laboratory for the first time, and lay the groundwork for a safe, carbon-free, secure energy future through inertial fusion energy. It seems their main thing is safe maintenance/storage of nuclear stockpiles, but it's not their only thing

pfdietz 4y ago
When energy people express skepticism about the value of NIF, the NIF team says it's for weapons work. When weapons people express skepticism about the value of NIF, the NIF team says it's for energy work.
- throwoutway 4y ago
  Maybe they have dual missions? That’s not unusual in government agencies For example when a military Is standing around they tend to do peaceful things like help deliver emergency supplies to areas hit by natural disasters. Militaries have great logistics and are used to going to “hard to reach” locations. And after the Cold War, nuclear subs support whale researchers by monitoring them
  - pfdietz 4y ago
    The point is that unless the weapons and energy people team up and compare their criticisms, each can be deflected by reference to the other.
ncmncm 4y ago
The word "safe" has a very specific, legal meaning as applied by the US DoE. It means, informally, "it goes bang when you push the button". Period. It does not, in particular, mean "it doesn't go bang when you don't push the button". Nor, "it doesn't leak radioactives into ground water", nor "it doesn't land in terrorists' hands", or "doesn't fall into farmers' fields and blow up", or literally anything else. Similarly, DoE's one other statutory responsibility, "reliability", means "it makes as big a bang as designed for", and literally nothing else. Every other thing you can think of is literally somebody else's job, if indeed anybody's.

pfdietz 4y ago

When energy people express skepticism about the value of NIF, the NIF team says it's for weapons work. When weapons people express skepticism about the value of NIF, the NIF team says it's for energy work.

throwoutway 4y ago
Maybe they have dual missions? That’s not unusual in government agencies For example when a military Is standing around they tend to do peaceful things like help deliver emergency supplies to areas hit by natural disasters. Militaries have great logistics and are used to going to “hard to reach” locations. And after the Cold War, nuclear subs support whale researchers by monitoring them
- pfdietz 4y ago
  The point is that unless the weapons and energy people team up and compare their criticisms, each can be deflected by reference to the other.

ncmncm 4y ago

The word "safe" has a very specific, legal meaning as applied by the US DoE. It means, informally, "it goes bang when you push the button". Period. It does not, in particular, mean "it doesn't go bang when you don't push the button". Nor, "it doesn't leak radioactives into ground water", nor "it doesn't land in terrorists' hands", or "doesn't fall into farmers' fields and blow up", or literally anything else. Similarly, DoE's one other statutory responsibility, "reliability", means "it makes as big a bang as designed for", and literally nothing else. Every other thing you can think of is literally somebody else's job, if indeed anybody's.