It's pretty obvious they must be aiming the laser at an ultradense pellet comprised of the billions of dollars appropriated for NIF.Because the laser is on for the merest fraction of a second, it costs little to operate -- between $5 and $20 per blast,
NIF project status
Didn't anyone read the article?
n*kBolt*Te = B**2/(2*mu0) and B^.25 loss scaling? Or not so much? Hopefully we'll know soon...
It's that time again:
July status update
News includes the 522.6 TW shot fired on July 5, that was widely covered in the media, a 1.9 MJ shot fired on July 3, experiments studying hydrodynamic instability in thicker DT capsules, and some direct-drive experiments.
It looks like LLNL took note of various commenters' confusion and answered the question of what the 522.6 TW shot was fired at:
July status update
News includes the 522.6 TW shot fired on July 5, that was widely covered in the media, a 1.9 MJ shot fired on July 3, experiments studying hydrodynamic instability in thicker DT capsules, and some direct-drive experiments.
It looks like LLNL took note of various commenters' confusion and answered the question of what the 522.6 TW shot was fired at:
I believe that means they were firing at a blank.The target was a depleted uranium hohlraum containing a cryogenic symmetry capsule (symcap) with a thicker (215-micron vs. 195-micron) capsule ablator containing 4 percent silicon.
Temperature, density, confinement time: pick any two.
Not anymore.
As for cheap, it is not always about the material, it is always about the labor and process.
As for cheap, it is not always about the material, it is always about the labor and process.
The development of atomic power, though it could confer unimaginable blessings on mankind, is something that is dreaded by the owners of coal mines and oil wells. (Hazlitt)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)
What I want to do is to look up C. . . . I call him the Forgotten Man. (Sumner)