National Ignition Facility (NIF) has been honored by SPIE leaders for its latest achievement. It demonstrated a milestone utilization of laser pulse equivalent to 1,000 times more energy than previously experienced by the U.S. The recognition was declared last week. The presentation ceremony was hosted on 15 March.
NIF will demonstrate the major requisites for achieving the objectives of fusion ignition and burn, in addition to increase energy gain. It will ignite a small, simulated star with laser light delivered from 192 identical beams. NIF will be the first facility to represent this phenomenon in a lab, which is a noteworthy aspect towards constructing a nuclear fusion power station that could provide safe and carbon-free electricity.
The historic laser shot is made up of a shaped pulse of energy 23 billionth s producing 411TW of peak power.
Mike Dunne, Lawrence Livermore National Lab program director for Laser Fusion Energy, at an SPIE Newsroom interview conducted in January 2012, forecasted that ignition and burn at NIF will be accomplished probably by the end of 2012.
According to the project director Ed Moses, the 1.875 MJ shot surpasses the actual design specification of NIF and establishes full-power experiments for future. Besides being the highest recorded energy achieving shot, it showed maximum precision at NIF with 1.3% energy efficiency. Precision at NIF is mandatory since the energy distribution among the beams establishes the symmetrical implosion achieved in capsules having fusion fuel. Implosion symmetry is a major factor in presenting the pressures and temperatures needed for ignition. NIF will track operations at higher energy and higher power levels to accomplish ignition.