Unveiling the steady progress toward fusion energy gain

The march towards fusion energy gain, required for commercial fusion energy, is not always visible. Progress occurs in fits and starts through experiments in national laboratories, universities, and more recently at private ...

1D model helps clarify implosion performance at NIF

In inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), a spherical shell of deuterium-tritium fuel is imploded in an attempt to reach the conditions needed for fusion, self-heating and eventual ...

Scientists rapidly grow a long-seed DKDP crystal

DKDP (KDxH2-xPO4), which can minimize stimulated Raman scattering, is the best nonlinear crystal used as a tripler in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) facilities.

Nanolaminate-based design for UV laser mirror coating

The demand for laser-resistant mirror coatings is increasing in inertial confinement fusion, extreme light infrastructure and other laser applications. The ideal UV laser mirror (UVLM) coating requires high reflectivity with ...

Magneto-inertial fusion experiment nears completion

Assembly of the Plasma Liner Experiment (PLX) at Los Alamos National Laboratory is well underway with the installation of 18 of 36 plasma guns in an ambitious approach to achieving controlled nuclear fusion (Figure 1). The ...

Researchers uncover a new obstacle to effective accelerator beams

High-energy ion beams—laser-like beams of atomic particles fired through accelerators—have applications that range from inertial confinement fusion to the production of superhot extreme states of matter that are thought ...

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