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NIF: no ignition this year
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 12:30 am
by Ivy Matt
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/24/us/24bclivermore.html?_r=1
Tests at the National Ignition Facility have been delayed another six months, due largely to problems with the filters designed to capture tritium. It seems they have been capturing more than tritium. NIF scientist Doug Eddy is still confident they will achieve ignition next year.
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 8:32 am
by Giorgio
Too bad, I was hoping to read some resuts from them this year.
Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 3:30 pm
by ladajo
That is dangerous for them as well in these days of excitable emotional budgeteering. And NIF is no small target.
Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 10:49 am
by Giorgio
You are right. Sometimes I tend to forget how much politics plays a role in research.
Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 12:42 pm
by zapkitty
Giorgio wrote:You are right. Sometimes I tend to forget how much politics plays a role in research.
But the actual purpose of NIF is testing bomb code. So NIF will be fine.
As for the earnest portrayal of NIF as some sort of prototype power reactor... that's some relatively inexpensive greenwashing and might even be left alone as well.
And some actual non-bomb fusion research should come out of it.
As I've said elsewhere: if inertial confinement can be made to work as a practical, economical power source the result will look almost exactly unlike the NIF.
Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 3:33 pm
by KitemanSA
The way Polywell seems to be headed we may not hear anything from EMC2 either!
Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:32 pm
by Joseph Chikva
KitemanSA wrote:The way Polywell seems to be headed we may not hear anything from EMC2 either!
Listen dude, how in Japanese "the way Polywell" - Polywell-do?
Posted: Sun Jun 26, 2011 6:54 pm
by Giorgio
zapkitty wrote:But the actual purpose of NIF is testing bomb code. So NIF will be fine.
Dunno, Ladajo point is right. In times of budget axing there might be a good temptation to cut something from NIF too.
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 3:21 am
by ladajo
And don't forget supercomputing and Moore's law are alive and well. Bomb analysis is a big part of funding for number crunchers. And the fickle finger of budgeteering sees progress in supercomputers...
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 4:45 pm
by KitemanSA
Joseph Chikva wrote:KitemanSA wrote:The way Polywell seems to be headed we may not hear anything from EMC2 either!
Listen dude, how in Japanese "the way Polywell" - Polywell-do?
Hunh??? English translation please?
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 5:00 pm
by zapkitty
KitemanSA wrote: Hunh??? English translation please?
-do, way or path
chado, the way of tea
judo, the gentle way
kendo, the way of the sword
bushido, the way of the warrior
polywelldo, the way of disappearing...
Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2011 6:54 pm
by ladajo
Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2011 7:26 pm
by TallDave
Sigh. Even if it ignites, it's still pretty worthless.
Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 2:15 am
by hanelyp
NIIF should produce some interesting physics if it ever runs. Anything beyond that is doubtful.
Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2011 4:27 am
by Joseph Chikva
hanelyp wrote:NIIF should produce some interesting physics if it ever runs. Anything beyond that is doubtful.
The efficiency of lasers is very low (~5%) requiring very high target’s amplifying factor. The target turns out complicated and therefore expensive.
And consequently if inertial confinement will ever capable to produce net power, that will be expensive.
