3 ms·
This is not how it works at all. The confinement is produced for a tiny fraction of a second by the inertia of the fuel pellet casing which is driven inward by
by Robotbeat 4y ago
This is not how it works at all. The confinement is produced for a tiny fraction of a second by the inertia of the fuel pellet casing which is driven inward by ablation from a powerful pulse of light. It’s the same basic mechanism as an H-bomb, except unlike an H-bomb, this uses lasers instead of a fission (A-bomb) trigger. And is MUCH smaller.
- aj7 4y agoYou left out a whole step. The X-rays.
- Robotbeat 4y agoBecause NIF can also potentially use the UV lasers directly, without converting to X-rays in the Hohlraum. Direct drive would be more practical for an actual power plant version: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Inertial_Fusion_Energy#Mercury https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser_Inertial_Fusion_Energy#M... So instead of “x-rays” I left it as the more general “light.”