Re:Nuclear physicist explains why fusion ignition is hailed ...
by walnutclosefarm on Monday December 19, 2022 @09:44AM
(#34052578)
Exactly. If there was a breakthrough at all, it in 2021, when NIF finally reached the point of "burning plasma."
But breakthrough, or milestone, I fear it may all be for naught. The improvements over the last two years are essentially all due to changes in the hohlraum geometry and preparation. All good, if your goal is to get burning plasmas to study. But NIF is orders of magnitude away from anything useful for power production. They have a Q of 1.5, but need something more like 100. They have a cycle time of, maybe, .1 shot/hour, and need something like 10,000/hour. Some real breakthroughs in the lasers (or maybe particle beams instead), coupling, and scale, not fine tuning of hohlraum shape, are needed.
But breakthrough, or milestone, I fear it may all be for naught. The improvements over the last two years are essentially all due to changes in the hohlraum geometry and preparation. All good, if your goal is to get burning plasmas to study. But NIF is orders of magnitude away from anything useful for power production. They have a Q of 1.5, but need something more like 100. They have a cycle time of, maybe, .1 shot/hour, and need something like 10,000/hour. Some real breakthroughs in the lasers (or maybe particle beams instead), coupling, and scale, not fine tuning of hohlraum shape, are needed.