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National Ignition Facility is Firing Up

VernonNemitz writes "Over near San Francisco in California, USA, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is starting to reach the end of 15 years of development work on the National Ignition Facility. The goal is to use 192 high-powered laser beams to blast a pellet of frozen hydrogen isotopes, turning it into a tiny (and thus safe) hydrogen bomb. Currently 4 of the lasers have been commissioned for use in tests; the eventual goal is to get more energy out of the exploding pellet than is dumped into it. Personally I think they'd have an easier time of it if they combined different ideas, but what do I know?"

1 of 58 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Security / Viruses by immortal · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Damn, clicked the wrong thing. How do I delete my own message?

    --
    "Your having a bad day when the voices in your head put you on hold"