nuclear-news

A large banner hangs from the front of the stadium-size building that houses the world’s most powerful array of lasers: “Bringing Star Power To Earth.”

For the past four years, physicists  at the National Ignition Facility, or NIF, in Livermore, California, have been trying to harness nuclear fusion, the same reaction that powers the sun and the stars. Supporters of the $3.5 billion facility believe that a successful outcome to the experiments could help usher in an era of nearly limitless energy. But the ambitious fusion research program at NIF now faces an uncertain future, both politically and scientifically……….

Unfortunately for the world’s energy needs, fusion presents far greater technical challenges than fission, which physicists mastered in the 1940s. It takes relatively little energy to split a nucleus—fission can even happen spontaneously. But for fusion to occur—that is, to force two nuclei to join—physicists must replicate the hellish temperatures and pressures found inside stars…………..

Nuclear Weapons and Getting to the World Series

Even with the proposed budget cuts, NIF will continue to operate for decades. Achieving ignition is only one aspect of the lab’s mission. Its primary purpose—one that will most likely overshadow fusion research in the years ahead—is to enable the United States to maintain its stockpile of nuclear weapons. The country has observed a ban on explosive testing since 1992, and classified work at NIF tests components of nuclear weapons without the need to blow anything up. That aspect of NIF’s research has broad bipartisan support, and the President’s budget for 2014 would increase funding for the lab’s weapons-testing program………. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/07/130726-fusion-national-ignition-facility-budget/