The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is currently conducting research into inertial fusion energy. Using 192 of the largest lasers in the world, the NIF is the leading global research facility on inertial fusion. By concentrating lasers on a fuel pellet made of hydrogen, fusion conditions can be created by heating and crushing the pellet. The NIF hopes to achieve “ignition” – more energy out than is put in – which will set the stage for a full-scale demonstration power plant called LIFE (Laser Inertial Fusion Energy).

However, progress has been more difficult than previously imagined. The problem is figuring out how to crush the fuel pellet in a symmetrical way.  Using supercomputers, the lasers are carefully calibrated to hit the fuel pellet in such a precise fashion that it implodes on all sides equally. In reality though, this has been extraordinarily difficult. Laser shots have resulted in the fuel pellet compressing unequally, imploding into an elliptical shape. Needless to say, these results lead to less energy produced than otherwise should be.

The National Ignition Facility

A recent article in Science News detailed some of these obstacles.  It provides a great overview of work at the NIF and fusion in general, but leaves the impression that the NIF experiment has failed because it has missed a fiscal year deadline. The NIF did not achieve “ignition” by the end of FY12, subjecting it to intense scrutiny and criticism.

However, missing arbitrary deadlines does not mean the NIF will fail in its quest to achieve ignition. Quite the contrary – delays in achieving milestones are part and parcel of cutting edge scientific research. ASP’s Andrew Holland expanded upon this misplaced criticism in an op-ed for AOL Energy last year.

In February 2013, the National Academies published a comprehensive review of America’s inertial fusion program and concluded that the potential benefits of fusion justify continued R&D support for inertial fusion as part of the long-term U.S. energy portfolio. After all, fusion holds the promise of providing a clean, safe, secure and abundant source of energy.

It is hard to overemphasize the importance of developing a resource with these attributes as the U.S. faces critical energy challenges in the coming decades. Fossil fuels are, by definition, finite and inflict damage on the U.S. economy through price volatility. They also contribute to climate change, which pose security threats to the United States. Renewables can help make the transition away from fossil fuels, but we also need clean baseload power for the long-term.

This is why the research at the NIF, despite the setbacks, is so important. Science may not conform to the deadlines dictated by annual budgets, but scientific endeavors of the past have shown that persistent dedication to push the bounds of knowledge forward pay off.

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