Jul 31 2010
Researchers at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) are trying to prove that laser fusion is possible and the process can be utilized to produce clean energy in the future.
Model of target chamber
The giant system, developed by NIF, emits 192 laser beams from a master oscillator. The laser beams, which travel to a distance of 1500 m, are directed on a small fuel pellet. The end-result of this process is to show that laser fusion is a potential source of clean energy.
The lasers deliver 500 trillion of power watts in 20 billionths of a second. This generated power is 500 times greater than the total power generated on the global power grid at the same time duration.
By utilizing a complex infrastructure of mirrors and power amplifiers, the NIF system directs the entire laser beams into the target chamber.