National Ignition Facility Fires Record-Setting 2-Megajoule Laser

By Clay Dillow Posted 03.21.2012 at 11:54 am 14 Comments

Inside the NIF Target Chamber NIF

The National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Lab designed its super laser to fire powerful laser shots at intensities up to 1.8 megajoules, but researchers aren’t stopping there. This week the NIF combined 192 lasers to fire a single 1.875-megajoule shot into a test chamber, and by the time it passed through its final focusing lens the shot had reached 2.03 megajoules, setting a new record for ultraviolet lasers.

That’s significant for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the NIF is now home to the world’s first 2-megajoule UV laser. In and of itself, that’s remarkable. But it also proved that it can surpass its own 1.8-megajoule design parameters without, you know, melting down or exploding or whatever super-powerful lasers do when they test to failure. This allowed it to fire a second shot just a day and a half later, another significant feat.

Why? Researchers eventually want this kind of laser to be able to fire off high-powered shots at 15 per second. That kind of performance is still a ways off, but once achieved it could open the door to nuclear fusion with a net energy gain. A powerful enough--and fast enough--laser could generate and sustain a fusion reaction by imploding hydrogen isotope pellets inside a fusion reactor in such a way that more energy comes out than goes in.

Again, that’s a long ways off. We haven’t reached the break-even point or even the ignition point necessary to produce a fusion reaction. But we’re getting there. Eighteen months ago the laser had created just one percent of the conditions researchers think necessary for ignition. That’s now jumped by ten percent, mostly in recent months as the effort has picked up steam. The laser could satisfy the requirements for ignition in the next six months, researchers say. So even though we’re a long ways off, we’re getting there.

[NIF]

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14 Comments

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rlb2

03/21/12 at 2:26 pm

So the saga continues.

I don't know if this would work but, if fusion is never achieved with this laser then maybe we can try to save mankind with it. Point it at a passing asteroid turn it on for a couple of minutes and see what happens? Note this would be one of our last line's of defense, several other methods like attacking it with a nuclear device may be used first.

Another way we can use this is to power laser sails, install a reflective device in geostationary orbit reflect the beam off of it towards a light sail. In this case you would want the beam spread as it goes through the earth's atmosphere. After it goes through the atmosphere the beam doesn't spread that much. This theoretically would propel an object, if the beam is on the sail for a long time, close to the speed of light.

On earth this thing will tear atoms apart however by using the atmosphere to our advantage as a way to spread the beam I see some day using an earth based laser to go to the stars. Maybe not a laser like this one but one made for the sole purpose of a space ferrying nation. If we used the same amount of effort and the hundreds of billions of dollars that we spent on fusion research over the past 50 years we might have a device today that may save our planet and explore other worlds around our nearest stars.

While waiting for a doomsday asteroid to hit we can send some robotic explorers to other star systems planets within 10 light years from earth.

If you want to see a far out idea I came up with in 2003, Earth Based Beamed Energy, to save our planet resources and at the same time lowering the planets carbon tax by using earth based lasers that are reflected off of satellites to other places around the world then go here.

http://shineinnovations.com/6112.html

Ron Bennett

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rlb2

03/21/12 at 2:45 pm

Another idea I had on the link I showed above was use earth based lasers that are reflected off a geostationary reflector to a light gathering solar concentrator. By using 1,000 sun solar cells by Boeings Spectro labs that would have an efficiency of over 40 percent we could go to Mars and our outer solar system in a timely manner.

Ron Bennett

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Robot

03/21/12 at 3:58 pm

WOW! That is some embiggen powerful laser! Why don't they add a Flux Compactor to that unit? I have heard they may have a left over spare at the embiggen Moth Hadron Collider inventory. Combine those elements and we are shooting neutrinos faster than light and beyond the cosmos, plus back again, ye ha!

I sorry, I have that rabbit by the tale and I just can't let it go. 'Embiggen's from serious old POPSCI'. It just kills me, ROFL, snort....lol.

.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense, i.e. facts.
Religion sees beyond the senses, i.e. faith.

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normwy58

03/21/12 at 4:29 pm

I'm thinking planetary defence, against astroids. Keep going guys.

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jefro

03/21/12 at 5:14 pm

They have the largest #2 pencil in the world too. Where did they sharpen it?

Wonder if it could be used to create materials like new ceramics?

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gizmowiz

03/21/12 at 5:24 pm

Maybe they should fire it at Congress and implode it--it's not getting anything done anyway.

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harshad1

03/21/12 at 5:29 pm

@rlb2 and others:

2 Megajoules may sound like a lot but it isn't. It's approximately equal to the energy in a pound of TNT or the energy generated by a 200 Hp engine in 13.4 seconds.

Whats impressive here is the fact that they managed to deposit so much energy onto so tiny a spot in so little time. i.e. the power and focus at those energy levels.

So not much use for anything other than nuclear research.

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Robot

03/21/12 at 5:59 pm

harshad1,
Watt!? Watt!? You say, no power! Well, I am packaging up my Embiggen Flux Compactor and storing it back into the Moth Haldron Collider Inventory. I do not think I be shooting and faster than light neutrinos tonight into the cosmos... oh hum, heavy sigh...

Alas, it seems gizmowiz has the best idea after all....

.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense, i.e. facts.
Religion sees beyond the senses, i.e. faith.

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rlb2

03/21/12 at 6:14 pm

harshad1 thanks, o-o-o-ps your right I should have caught that.

Ron Bennett

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quasi44

03/21/12 at 7:14 pm

So are we thinking that it's being limited by the crystalline they created aren't yet at the level to handle the amplification, or a control of the waveform, or a power system insufficiency? C'mon, LLNL. Throw U.S. some kinda bone. Geez, it IS a school, right?

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jonathanobikpo

03/23/12 at 4:49 pm

@normwy58
I hope that the bad Aliens and demons are not on the Internet and don't read the newspapers or listen to the news. You don't want to piss off any galactic cop on some Asteroid bristling with celestial WMD like plagues, high velocity wind, fire, magnetic nets, etc.

Jonathan Obikpo

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