Igniting the Future
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the world’s most energetic laser, operated by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration.
NIF achieves fusion ignition in a lab to secure and modernize the nation’s nuclear stockpile.
Configuring the Shot
It starts in the control room, where operators configure thousands of parameters on NIF’s 192 lasers, all of which will fire onto a small object called a target. A successful NIF shot, lasting just a few billionths of a second, depends on extreme precision and accuracy.
Configuring the Shot
It starts in the control room, where operators configure thousands of parameters on NIF’s 192 lasers, all of which will fire onto a small object called a target. A successful NIF shot, lasting just a few billionths of a second, depends on extreme precision and accuracy.
Configuring the Shot
It starts in the control room, where operators configure thousands of parameters on NIF’s 192 lasers, all of which will fire onto a small object called a target. A successful NIF shot, lasting just a few billionths of a second, depends on extreme precision and accuracy.
Building up Energy
Before each shot, a vast array of energy-storing capacitors charge up by drawing electricity from the power grid. These capacitors power large flashlamps that energize the laser amplifiers.
A Beam is Born
Once the shot director gives the go-ahead, the shot begins as small pulses of laser light.
Those pulses are amplified more than 10 billion times and split into 192 individual laser beams.
Supercharging
NIF's main amplifier then supercharges the total laser energy to millions of joules and hundreds of terawatts.
Each beam travels back and forth to build strength. They pass through a series of advanced lenses and optical technology, which have been precisely adjusted to meet the needs of the experiment.
Converging on the Target
The beams make their way from the amplifiers to their destination in the Target Chamber. They change color from infrared to ultraviolet before converging on the target with pinpoint accuracy.
Solar Conditions
Inside the chamber, the ultraviolet laser light enters the target container, or hohlraum, and deposits the energy into its walls, heating it to millions of degrees.
Solar Conditions
Inside the chamber, the ultraviolet laser light enters the target container, or hohlraum, and deposits the energy into its walls, heating it to millions of degrees.
Solar Conditions
Inside the chamber, the ultraviolet laser light enters the target container, or hohlraum, and deposits the energy into its walls, heating it to millions of degrees.
Fusion Ignition
The capsule of fusion fuel experiences pressures and temperatures exceeding those found in the center of the Sun and similar to thermonuclear explosions. This causes an increasing number of hydrogen nuclei to fuse together, creating a self-heating and growing burning plasma.
The result? Fusion ignition, producing more energy than the laser energy used to start the reaction.
Fusion Ignition
The capsule of fusion fuel experiences pressures and temperatures exceeding those found in the center of the Sun and similar to thermonuclear explosions. This causes an increasing number of hydrogen nuclei to fuse together, creating a self-heating and growing burning plasma.
The result? Fusion ignition, producing more energy than the laser energy used to start the reaction.
Fusion Ignition
The capsule of fusion fuel experiences pressures and temperatures exceeding those found in the center of the Sun and similar to thermonuclear explosions. This causes an increasing number of hydrogen nuclei to fuse together, creating a self-heating and growing burning plasma.
The result? Fusion ignition, producing more energy than the laser energy used to start the reaction.
Making History
NIF made history on December 5, 2022 by achieving fusion ignition in a laboratory for the first time.
In that experiment, 2.05 megajoules (MJ) of laser energy was used to produce 3.15 MJ of fusion energy.
Making History
NIF made history on December 5, 2022 by achieving fusion ignition in a laboratory for the first time.
In that experiment, 2.05 megajoules (MJ) of laser energy was used to produce 3.15 MJ of fusion energy.
Making History
NIF made history on December 5, 2022 by achieving fusion ignition in a laboratory for the first time.
In that experiment, 2.05 megajoules (MJ) of laser energy was used to produce 3.15 MJ of fusion energy.
Invaluable Data
NIF’s main product is data for national security. More than 100 diagnostic tools are used to capture data from NIF experiments. That data is processed by high performance computers like nearby El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer.
Invaluable Data
NIF’s main product is data for national security. More than 100 diagnostic tools are used to capture data from NIF experiments. That data is processed by high performance computers like nearby El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer.
Invaluable Data
NIF’s main product is data for national security. More than 100 diagnostic tools are used to capture data from NIF experiments. That data is processed by high performance computers like nearby El Capitan, the world’s fastest supercomputer.
Ignition Accomplished
Fusion ignition in the laboratory - achieved more than ten times - ensures the safety, reliability, and effectiveness of the nation’s nuclear deterrent as part of the national effort to modernize the nuclear stockpile. It is also a key step toward fusion energy, as LLNL's Livermore Institute for Fusion Technology partners with public and private sectors to establish fusion as a source of abundant, baseload energy for the nation.
Over the next decade, NIF is working on an upgrade to increase its laser energy, unlocking new fusion regimes and advancing LLNL’s mission.
Learn More: Inside NIF'S Fusion Breakthrough
