The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is the world’s largest and most powerful laser. It is located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California. NIF’s main purpose is to serve as a national laboratory for Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF) research. The facility also supports other scientific programs such as high-energy-density physics and astrophysics.
NIF was designed and built by a team of scientists and engineers from LLNL, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics, General Atomics, and private industry. Construction of the facility began in 1997 and was completed in 2009. The cost of construction was approximately $3.5 billion.
NIF consists of 192 beams that converge on a central target chamber where experiments are conducted. The facility is capable of generating 500 trillion watts (500 TW) of peak power and 1 MJ of ultraviolet energy delivered to the target. This makes NIF about 10 times more powerful than any other laser system in operation today.
The principal goal of ICF research at NIF is to achieve self-sustaining nuclear fusion reactions—the same process that powers our Sun—in the laboratory using extremely high temperatures and pressures produced by lasers or particle beams focused on tiny targets containing deuterium–tritium fuel pellets about the size of a pencil eraser head. Reaching this milestone would provide an environmentally friendly source of energy with virtually limitless suppliesof deuterium extracted from water within our oceansand tritium breedersdeveloped through recycling used reactor fuel rodsfrom conventional fission reactors around the world(see How Nuclear Fusion Worksfor details). Successful ignitionwould also enable significant advances inscienceand technologyas well as pavethe wayfor future inertial fusion power plants(see Why Is Nuclear Fusion Important?).
In addition to its role as a premier ICF research facility, NIF serves as a national user facility open to scientists from academia, government laboratories, and private industry worldwide who are pursuing high-energy-density physics (HEDP) research important to understanding astrophysical phenomena such as supernovae explosions and planet formation; improving defense against radiation effects; developing new materials with extreme resistance to heat or pressure; designing better plasma confinement schemes for next-generation magnetic fusion energy plants; studying matter at conditions unattainable on Earth; testing theories related to general relativity; creating ultrafast X-ray images showing chemical processes taking place in real time; providing insight into how stars evolve over their lifetime; investigating molecular dynamics far from equilibrium states reached during collisions between heavy nuclei at relativistic energies; modeling strong coupling regimes relevant for quantum chromodynamics studies in hadron colliders like those at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider (LHC); studying hydrodynamic instabilities leading to mixing layers relevant for both astrophysical objects like accreting neutron stars as well as terrestrial applications like liquid rocket engines; providing data needed for 3D computer simulations essential for developing predictive capability across HEDP disciplines; conducting basic science studies leading to improved control over thermonuclear plasmas required for practical applications ranging from space propulsion systems operating on nuclear pulse principles first proposed by Edward Tellerto compact particle accelerators using Inner Charged Layers(ICLs), which could eventually leadto table top versions producing X-rays intense enoughfor medical diagnosisand cancer treatmentor generating electronswith energies exceeding 1 GeVthat can be usedin experimentsto probefundamental lawsgoverning natureat its smallest scales(see High Energy Density Physics Research).