The National Ignition Facility out at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California is the size of a football stadium and equipped with the largest laser in the world. With said massive laser nearing completion — it'll be done by 2009 — and the facility scheduled to begin testing in 2010, the folks running the show have set an ambitious timetable of realizing fusion power by 2011.
It sounds too good to be true, and maybe it is, but it centers around a concept called Laser Inertial Confinement Fusion-Fission Energy (or LIFE), which produces carbon-free electricity using a laser like the one installed at the NIF. According to an LLNL release, LIFE could "generate gigawatts of power 24 hours a day for as long as 50 years without refueling while avoiding carbon dioxide emissions."
Only time will tell if we're finally able to take advantage of fusion, but I'm looking forward to slapping my forehead and shouting "Great Scott!" when it does.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, via Sustainable Business
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By Bill Drew at 6:30 PM ON 11/14/08
What is going to power the laser? Will it produce more energy than what is required to make it work?
By TC at 6:33 PM ON 11/14/08
Sad note... Christopher Lloyds house burnt down in the Fire in Santa Barbara last night!
By skullivan at 7:10 PM ON 11/14/08
"Laser Inertial Confinement Fusion-Fission Energy (or LIFE)"
That acronym is quite a stretch but I guess I can cut them some slack since they're trying to solve the energy crisis with giant lasers!
By Jay R at 7:36 PM ON 11/14/08
Bill,
the energy to power the lasers is taken from the energy generated by the Fusion-Fission process... over the years this has been one of the huge selling points for a laser based system to drive then fusion process.
"The system would require about two to two-and-a-half times less laser energy input than a pure fusion plant, and thanks to the extra gain from the fission blanket, produce about 200 times more energy than the input energy. LIFE would be proliferation-resistant and passively safe, require no uranium isotope enrichment and minimize the need for long-term geologic storage of nuclear waste."
https://lasers.llnl.gov/missions/energy_for_the_future/life/
By IsoTek at 6:45 PM ON 11/15/08
Hey, if it can't solve the energy crisis then it will make a great place to film "T2RN" just like the original did.
By CoolProducts at 2:27 PM ON 11/19/08
This is definitely one project that will have the globe sitting on their edge of their seats in anticipation!
By Gary W at 3:26 PM ON 11/20/08
It is wrong to say NIF is the largest laser in the world. NIF is a system of 192 identical lasers exqisitley synchronized to blast a little thermonuclear fuel pellet from all sides at once.
By Puna at 8:21 PM ON 11/29/08
Dylithium crystals power it of course!