Burning plasma achieved in inertial fusion

Zylstra, A. B.; Hurricane, O. A.; Callahan, D. A.; Kritcher, A. L.; Ralph, J. E.; Robey, H. F.; Ross, Jeffrey S.; Young, C. V.; Baker, K. L.; Casey, D. T.; Döppner, T.; Divol, L.; Hohenberger, M.; Pape, S. Le; Pak, A.; Patel, P. K.; Tommasini, R.; Ali, S. J.; Amendt, P. A.; Atherton, L. J.; Bachmann, B.; Bailey, David; Benedetti, L. R.; Hopkins, L. Berzak; Betti, R.; Bhandarkar, S. D.; Biener, Juergen; Bionta, R. M.; Birge, N.; Bond, E.; Bradley, D. K.; Braun, T.; Briggs, T. M.; Bruhn, M. W.; Celliers, P. M.; Chang, Baisong; Chapman, T.; Chen, Hui; Choate, C.; Christopherson, A. R.; Clark, D. S.; Crippen, J. W.; Dewald, E. L.; Dittrich, Thomas; Edwards, M. J.; Farmer, W. A.; Field, J. E.; Fittinghoff, D. N.; Frenje, J. A.; Gaffney, Jim; Johnson, M. Gatu; Glenzer, S. H.; Grim, G. P.; Haan, S. W.; Hahn, Kelly; Hall, G. N.; Hammel, B. A.; Harte, J.; Hartouni, E. P.; Heebner, John E.; Hernandez, V. J.; Herrmann, H. W.; Herrmann, Mark; Hinkel, D. E.; Ho, D.; Holder, J. P.; Hsing, W. W.; Huang, H.; Humbird, Kelli; Izumi, N.; Jarrott, L. C.; Jeet, J.; Jones, O. S.; Kerbel, G. D.; Kerr, S.; Khan, S. F.; Kilkenny, J.D.; Kim, Y.; Geppert-Kleinrath, Hermann; Geppert-Kleinrath, V.; Kong, C.; Koning, J. M.; Kroll, J. J.; Kruse, Michael; Kustowski, Bogdan; Landen, O. L.; Langer, S.; Larson, David J.; Lemos, N.; Lindl, J. D.; Ma, T.; MacDonald, M. J.; MacGowan, B. J.; Mackinnon, A. J.; MacLaren, S. A.; MacPhee, A. G.; Marinak, M. M.; Mariscal, D.; Marley, E. V.; Massé, L.; Meaney, K. D.; Meezan, N. B.; Michel, P.; Millot, M.; Milovich, J. L.; Moody, J. D.; Moore, A. S.; Morton, John; Murphy, T. J.; Newman, K.; Nicola, J.-M. G. Di; Nikroo, A.; Nora, R.; Patel, M. V.; Pelz, L.; Peterson, J. L.; Ping, Y.; Pollock, B.; Ratledge, M.; Rice, N.; Rinderknecht, H. G.; Rosen, M. D.; Rubery, M. S.; Salmonson, J. D.; Sater, J.; Schiaffino, Stefano; Schlossberg, D. J.; Schneider, M. B.; Schroeder, Christopher; Scott, H. A.; Sepke, S. M.; Sequoia, K.; Sherlock, M. W.; Shin, S. J.; Smalyuk, V. A.; Spears, B. K.; Springer, P. T.; Stadermann, Michael; Stoupin, Stanislav; Strozzi, D. J.; Suter, L. J.; Thomas, C. A.; Town, R. P. J.; Tubman, Eleanor; Trosseille, C.; Volegov, P. L.; Weber, C. R.; Widmann, K.; Wild, C.; Wilde, C. H.; Wonterghem, B. M. Van; Woods, D. T.; Woodworth, B. N.; Yamaguchi, M.; Yang, S. T.; Zimmerman, G. B.

doi:10.1038/s41586-021-04281-w

articleNatureJan 26, 2022HYBRID OA

Burning plasma achieved in inertial fusion

ABA. B. Zylstra OAO. A. Hurricane DAD. A. Callahan ALA. L. Kritcher JEJ. E. Ralph

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory · Lawrence Livermore National Security · +9 more institutions

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Abstract

Abstract Obtaining a burning plasma is a critical step towards self-sustaining fusion energy 1 . A burning plasma is one in which the fusion reactions themselves are the primary source of heating in the plasma, which is necessary to sustain and propagate the burn, enabling high energy gain. After decades of fusion research, here we achieve a burning-plasma state in the laboratory. These experiments were conducted at the US National Ignition Facility, a laser facility delivering up to 1.9 megajoules of energy in pulses with peak powers up to 500 terawatts. We use the lasers to generate X-rays in a radiation cavity to indirectly drive a fuel-containing capsule via the X-ray ablation pressure, which results in…

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Topics

Keywords

Implosion
Plasma
Inertial confinement fusion
Ignition system
National Ignition Facility
Fusion power
Nuclear engineering
Laser

UN Sustainable Development Goals

Affordable and clean energy

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