Lawson Criterion for Ignition Exceeded in an Inertial Fusion Experiment

For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ…

• UD
  U.S. Department of Energy
• NN
  National Nuclear Security Administration

  Award: DE-NA0003525
• EA
  Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council

  Awards: EP/P010288/1, EP/P023460/1
• LL
  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

  Award: DE-AC52-07NA27344