Laser Fusion Nears “Ignition”
Laser fusion is nearing the point where more energy is produced than is put in, known as “ignition,” according to an article in New Electronics.The National Ignition Facility (NIF), housed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has been working with lasers to achieve net energy gain with “inertial confinement fusion.” Using 192 lasers, NIF shoots pulses of energy at a fuel pellet, which generates enormous temperatures. High temperatures and high pressure force the fuel pellet to collapse inwards and fuse, producing large amounts of energy.The problem thus far has been producing more energy than is required to put in. However, NIF is approaching that threshold. From the article:
Laser based fusion is nearing the point at which it delivers more energy than it consumes, according to one of the lead researchers working on the technology, although the target date will most likely slip from the September 2012 timeframe predicted at the start of the year. If the technology proves successful, laser fusion is likely to open up a large new market for semiconductor suppliers thanks to massive reductions in laser cost driven by the market for depilation products.
Mike Dunne, programme director for laser fusion energy at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, said the task has meant building a laser that is ‘100 times larger than any other laser system in the world to provide the full scale physics performance demonstration needed for a gigawatt scale power plant.
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