NIF

Abbreviation NIF may refer to the Nuclear research facility, the big project with huge budget oriented to the development of the prototype of the nuclear fusion power plant. The goal was to confirm the ability of the nuclear fusion with inertial confinement. The project is hold at the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, USA . (However, the term "NIF" may have also other meanings . )

During many years, the prototipe of the nuclear fusion power plant at NIF was expected to be demonstrated by the beginning of century 21; the director for laser fusion energy, had beeng expecting the giant laser system to generate fusion with energy gain, or "burn", by the end of 2012. . The claim was "By following our recipe, we would make a miniature star that lasts for a tiny fraction of a second. During its brief lifetime, it will produce energy the way the stars and the sun do, by nuclear fusion. Our little star will produce ten to 100 times more energy than we used to ignite it." .

In the end of year 2012, some colleagues indicate that the main goal of NOF has not been achieved, and suggest to replace the initial task to more realistic, from the creation of prototype of the nuclear plant to the research oriented to optimization of the nuclear weapon .

Thin-disk laser

One of mechanisms that caused the failuer of NIF may be fundamental limit of energy that can be stored in a singe element of a Thin–disk laser .

Warning

The references about NIF are collected in TORI in order to trace the drift of the concept of the laser fusion with inertial confinement and, in particular, the promises of NIF, through time. In the similar way, some article Communism may trace the evolution of the official concept of the USSR about itself and about the realization of communism in it.

This article should not be considered as anti-american propaganda, nor even as a critics: this is just collection of opinions of colleagues and the officials. The patriots of NIF are cordially invited to add a section in support of NIF. For example, prof. K.Ueda thinks, that the problem of NIF has nothing to do with the most expensive and delicate part – generator of optical pulses that are supposer to ignite the targets .

Referenves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Ignition_Facility

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fusion_power

http://www.physicstoday.org/daily_edition/politics_and_policy/nif_to_shift_emphasis_after_the_facility_s_failure_to_achieve_ignition David Kramer. NIF to shift emphasis after the facility's failure to achieve ignition. Livermore scientists will slow the pace of their experiments while they investigate what went wrong. October 8, 2012.

http://www.opticsinfobase.org/abstract.cfm?URI=josab-23-6-1074 http://tori.ils.uec.ac.jp/PAPERS/disk.pdf (208k) D.Kouznetsov, J.-F.Bisson, J.Dong, K.Ueda. Surface loss limit of the power scaling of a thin-disk laser. J.Opt.Soc.Am.B v.23,p. 1074-1082 (2006)

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/rlp/aip.717414.html http://tori.ils.uec.ac.jp/PAPERS/2008rlp717414.pdf D.Kouznetsov. Storage of energy in disk-shaped laser materials. Research Letters in Physics, v.2008 (2008), Article ID 717414, (5 pages)