The quest for high fusion gain two years after the demonstration of ignition in the laser inertial fusion approach

The demonstration of energy gain by nuclear fusion in the laboratory and its eventual utilization as an unlimited energy source has been a grand challenge for physicists and engineers for 70 years. The realization as an industrial energy source would have a tremendous impact on our society and would change our approach to energy policy and climate change. In this talk, I will present the path towards the demonstration of multi-megajoule energy yield from deuterium-tritium plasmas in indirectly driven inertial confinement fusion implosions on the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. These experiments exceed fusion powers of 70 PW in a single event, vastly exceeding human’s total annual power capability by a factor of 3,000. This achievement came after increasing the fusion energy yield by a factor of 2,000 since the first experiments on the National Ignition Facility about a decade ago. I will discuss some discoveries and roadblocks towards ignition and how obstacles were overcome. Currently, several avenues towards power generation by fusion ignition and high fusion yield are beginning to emerge where efforts towards laser and target technology developments have been launched recently through the U.S. DOE’s IFE-STAR and FIRE programs. I will discuss the critical role that future experiments at the Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument at SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source will play to advance our understanding of the physical properties of laser-driven fusion fuels that determine compressibility, instability growth, and heating to fusion power conditions.

Speaker: Siegfried Glenzer, SLAC National Accelerator Lab

Attend in person or online (see weblink for Zoom information