Scientists Produce Unprecedented 1 Megajoule Laser Shot, Step Towards Fusion Ignition

US scientists have produced a laser shot with an unprecedented energy level that could be a key step towards nuclear fusion, the US National Nuclear Security Administration said Wednesday.

The National Nuclear Security Administration announced today that scientists at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have successfully delivered an historic level of laser energy — more than 1 megajoule — to a target in a few billionths of a second and demonstrated the target drive conditions required to achieve fusion ignition. This is about 30 times the energy ever delivered by any other group of lasers in the world.

The peak power of the laser light, which was delivered within a few billionths of a second, was about 500 times that used by the United States at any given time

“Breaking the megajoule barrier brings us one step closer to fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility, and shows the universe of opportunities made possible by one of the largest scientific and engineering challenges of our time,”

www.physorg.com...

This is tremendous news. A great step towards actual fusion energy. The only problem i see with this type of advancement would be the military applications of such a powerful laser.

Each step closer to sustainable fusion is a giant leap in the right direction for mankind. Fusion could provide cheap efficient energy for everyone. The only problem is that its incredibly difficult to master.

Even in the best Tokomac reactors today is tyhat they can only sustain tritium plasmas for a very short time. I hope we do not give up this persuit, and it would seem by this breakthrough that we are getting close.

Way to go fellas at the NIF (national ignition facility) keep it up

[edit on 28-1-2010 by constantwonder]

Yeah this certainly is where we should be directing our resources/efforts. I firmly believe if we can solve the energy crisis, we can solve so many other issues our species is faced with.

Originally posted by constantwonder
Fusion could provide cheap efficient energy for everyone. The only problem is that its incredibly difficult to master.

The chief plasma scientist at NIF seems pretty sure of himself:

Dr Glenzer is confident that with everything in place, ignition is on the horizon. He added, quite simply, "It's going to happen this year." BBC report

Will 2010 usher in the end of the Age of Scarcity?

reply to post by Astyanax


Will not work as it is a one shot wonder.It is like firing bullets spaced an 24 hours apart at granades 5 miles away.Waste of money.

Originally posted by nobodysavedme
Will not work as it is a one shot wonder. It is like firing bullets spaced an 24 hours apart at granades 5 miles away. Waste of money.

Thank you for your opinion. I am sure you will not mind telling us what qualifies you to express one. Are you a nuclear physicist? A fusion engineer?

[edit on 30/1/10 by Astyanax]

reply to post by constantwonder


It was not one massively powerful laser, but 192 less-powerful ones. And the lasers are massive, with humongous power supplies. They are far from being weaponised, unless you can lure an entire column of enemy tanks into your research facility, then get them to sit very still while you ramp the power up, ripping a hole through them one by one.

This is not "Weird Science", even though that film is great

This is great news and very promising. Can't wait to see where this might lead.