Preparing for Ignition
In March of this year, the world’s large and most powerful laser was certified as operational at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. In 2010 at Lawrence Lab’s National Ignition Facility (NIF), the energy of 102 giant laser beams will be focused on a pea-sized target filled with hydrogen fuel, and the hydrogen atoms’ nuclei will be ignited (or fused) in the world’s first controlled thermonuclear reaction.
Self-sustaining nuclear fusion has been a goal of scientists for more than fifty years. When NIF begins its ignition experiments in 2010, the goal will be closer to becoming a reality.