Lasers, loop calibration, and nuclear fusion: Temperature and pressure calibration at the National Ignition Facility

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4251325A_EN_w.pdf (1.03 MB)

The “manufacturing” process here relies on “shots” of laser energy focused on a target the size of a BB. The product: a nuclear reaction six times hotter than the core of the sun . . . and a growing understanding of fusion reactions that could one day free the planet from dependence on dwindling fossil fuels. Here at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at California’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, scientists are working to create nuclear fusion reactions that unleash more energy than their lasers put in—the definition of “ignition.” It’s a first step in a process that could one day bring “star power”—clean nuclear fusion energy—down to earth.