NS: World's largest laser blasted over fusion plan

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bystander
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NS: World's largest laser blasted over fusion plan

Post by bystander » Mon Apr 12, 2010 6:12 pm

World's largest laser blasted over fusion plan
New Scientist - 2010 Apr 12
The world's largest laser is meant to spark off a fusion reaction this year – but don't bank on it. So says the US government's watchdog in a highly critical report about the huge laser array at the National Ignition Facility (NIF).

Despite crucial success in evenly compressing fusion fuel pellets earlier this year, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's $3.5 billion array faces problems in repeating that success at higher power, says a US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
A Stellar Performance
Science and Technology Review, April/May 2010
By combining computational models with test shot data, scientists at the National Ignition Facility have demonstrated that the laser is spot-on for ignition.
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Re: NS: World's largest laser blasted over fusion plan

Post by bystander » Mon Apr 12, 2010 6:37 pm

New hope for ultimate clean energy: fusion power
PhysOrg: General Physics: 2010 April 12
Imagine if you could generate electricity using nuclear power that emitted no radioactivity: it would be the answer to the world's dream of finding a clean, sustainable energy source.

That is the great hope raised by researchers who believe they have found a radical new path to the ultimate goal of solving the world's energy crisis through nuclear fusion power
Fusion energy without radioactivity: laser ignition of solid hydrogen–boron (11) fuel
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