5 ms·
I keep getting lost in the numbers here. What was the net gain/loss for the entire system? Without the “lasers are 1% efficient at 20% energy loss with 40% ener
by IgorPartola 4y ago
I keep getting lost in the numbers here. What was the net gain/loss for the entire system? Without the “lasers are 1% efficient at 20% energy loss with 40% energy transfer loss” and all that.
- nine_k 4y agoAFAICT: There's a large net gain compared to the energy emitted by the lasers. There is still a considerable loss compared to the energy consumed by the lasers. While at it: I don't think the NIF approach will ever be applicable to commercial power generation on Earth. But I hope it will be one day applicable to a fusion-based rocket engine.
- jackmott 4y ago
- joosters 4y agoThey needed roughly 500MJ of energy to power the lasers and produce the 2.5MJ of energy, so the net loss was... about 500MJ.
- zbobet2012 4y agoThe net gain of the entire system at NIF doesn't matter, because the system at NIF was never designed to make a net gain. People are estimating how this result moves the equation for an overall system that is designed for power production. Most numbers I have seen still leave a theoretically optimal power plant producing around a 30% loss in power with this number.