National Ignition Facility (NIF) | History, Goal, Experiments, & Facts

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The NIF target chamber uses a high-energy laser to heat fusion fuel to temperatures sufficient for thermonuclear ignition. The facility is used for basic science, fusion energy research, and nuclear weapons testing.</span></span> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-white js-content" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <span class="link-blue">(more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </figcaption> </figure> </div><div class="topic-header"> <div class="d-flex align-items-top justify-content-between"> <div class="d-flex flex-column"> <div> <div> <h1>National Ignition Facility</h1></div> </div> <div class="topic-identifier font-16 font-md-20">research device, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California, United States</div> </div> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-flex flex-row"> <div class="mr-10 mb-15"> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="d-none d-sm-block md-topic-tools qa-action-buttons mb-15" data-topic-id="404927"> <button class="js-tooltip btn btn-sm btn-outline-blue border pr-10 border-2" > <em class="material-icons md-icon ml-n10 my-n5 mr-5" data-icon="more_vert"></em> More Actions </button> <div class="md-more-popover popover popover-sm p-0 font-14 z-1"> <div> <a class="js-modal btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" href="/print/article/404927" target="_blank" > <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="print"></em> Print </a> </div> <div> <button class="js-modal qa-cite-modal-button btn btn-sm btn-link gtm-topic-tool font-weight-bold btn-link" data-modal="[data-topic-id=404927] .md-cite-modal"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="verified"></em> Cite </button> <div class="md-cite-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif d-flex align-items-center pb-15 border-bottom mb-15"> <em class="material-icons text-blue mr-10">verified</em>Cite </div> <div class="font-serif"> While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 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Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). </div> <div class="type-menu"> <label for="feedback-type" class="label mb-10">Feedback Type</label> <select id="feedback-type" class="form-select mb-30" name="feedbackTypeId" required> <option value="" selected="selected">Select a type (Required)</option> <option value="1">Factual Correction</option> <option value="2">Spelling/Grammar Correction</option> <option value="3">Link Correction</option> <option value="4">Additional Information</option> <option value="5">Other</option> </select> </div> <label for="feedback" class="label mb-10">Your Feedback</label> <textarea id="feedback" class="form-control mb-30" name="feedback" maxlength="3000" rows="7" required></textarea> <button class="btn btn-blue" type="submit">Submit Feedback</button> </form> <div class="success-messaging d-none mt-30"> <div class="title">Thank you for your feedback</div> <p>Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.</p> </div> </div> </div> <div class="md-websites-modal size-lg d-none"> <div class="md-modal-body"> <div class="h2 font-serif pb-15 border-bottom font-weight-bold"> External Websites </div> <div class="pb-20"> <ul class="list-unstyled mt-20 lh-lg"> <li><a class="external" href="https://lasers.llnl.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noopener ">Official Site of National Ignition Facility and Photon Science</a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="toc-header-marker"></div> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 js-header-ai-ask-button d-none btn-sm btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 mr-0 mr-lg-10 ml-5 ml-sm-10 ml-lg-0 p-10"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> <div class="caption alternate-titles">Also known as: NIF</div> <div class="md-byline module-spacing "> <div class="font-serif font-12"> <span class="written-by text-gray-700"> Written by </span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor" href="/editor/William-L-Hosch/6481" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">William L. Hosch</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 clamp-description text-black">William L. Hosch was an editor at Encyclopædia Britannica.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> William L. Hosch</span></div> <div class="font-serif font-12 text-gray-700"> <span class="qa-fact-checked-by">Fact-checked by</span> <div class="editor-popover popover p-0"> <a class="d-block p-20 font-12" href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419" > <div class="editor-title font-16 font-weight-bold">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</div> <div class="editor-description font-12 font-serif mt-5 text-black">Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link font-12 "> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Ignition-Facility/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref1047907"></span>National Ignition Facility (NIF)</strong>, laser-based fusion research device, located at Lawrence <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Livermore" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Livermore</a> National Laboratory in Livermore, California, U.S. A major goal for the device is to create a self-renewing, or energy-producing, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/nuclear-fusion" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">fusion</a> reaction for the first time. If successful, it may demonstrate the feasibility of laser-based <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/fusion-reactor" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">fusion reactors</a>, a way for astrophysicists to perform stellar experiments, and allow physicists to better understand and test <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/nuclear-weapon" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">nuclear weapons</a>.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">First proposed in 1994, with a cost of $1.2 billion and an estimated completion time of eight years, the device was not approved until 1997, and its construction was plagued with problems and cost overruns. By the time the 192 <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/laser" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">lasers</a> used in it were first test-fired together in February 2009, the price tag had grown to $3.5 billion. Construction of the NIF was certified complete by the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/US-Department-of-Energy" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">U.S. Department of Energy</a> on March 31, and it was formally dedicated on May 29. Fusion ignition experiments began in 2011, and the device was expected to perform 700 to 1,000 experiments per year for the following 30 years.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">The <a href="https://www.britannica.com/technology/laser" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">laser</a> <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="beams" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/beams" data-type="EB">beams</a> used in the NIF start from a master oscillator as a single low-energy (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/infrared-radiation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">infrared</a>) laser pulse lasting from 100 trillionths to 25 billionths of a second. This beam is split into 48 new beams that are routed through individual <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/fiber-optics" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">optical fibres</a> to powerful preamplifiers that boost each beam’s energy by a factor of about 10 billion. Each of these 48 beams is then split into 4 new beams, which are fed to the 192 main laser amplifier systems. Each beam is routed back and forth through special glass amplifiers and adjustable mirrors—amplifying the beams about another 15,000-fold and shifting their wavelength to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/ultraviolet-radiation" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">ultraviolet</a> as they <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw" data-term="traverse" href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/traverse" data-type="MW">traverse</a> nearly 100 km (60 miles) of fibre-optic cables. Finally, the 192 beams are sent to a near-vacuum target chamber 10 metres (33 feet) in diameter, where each beam delivers about 20,000 <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/joule" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">joules</a> of energy to a small pellet of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/deuterium" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">deuterium</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/tritium" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">tritium</a> (<a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/hydrogen" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">hydrogen</a> <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/isotope" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">isotopes</a> with extra <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/neutron" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">neutrons</a>) located at the chamber’s centre. The beams must converge within a few trillionths of a second of each other at the spherical pellet, which is only about 2 mm (about 0.0787 inch) across and cooled to within a few degrees of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/absolute-zero" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">absolute zero</a> (−273.15 °C, or −459.67 °F). Timed correctly, the beams deliver more than 4,000,000 joules of energy that heat the pellet to about 100,000,000 °C (180,000,000 °F) and set off a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/nuclear-reaction" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">nuclear reaction</a>.</p><div class="module-spacing"> </div><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/William-L-Hosch/6481">William L. Hosch</a></span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":404927,"pageLength":404,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"A","adLeg":"A","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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National Ignition Facility (NIF) | History, Goal, Experiments, & Facts | Britannica