24/7 Space News
ENERGY TECH
Scientists create effective 'spark plug' for direct-drive inertial confinement fusion experiments
A a view from inside the OMEGA target chamber during a direct-drive inertial fusion experiment at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics. Scientists fired 28 kilojoules of laser energy at small capsules filled with deuterium and tritium fuel.
Scientists create effective 'spark plug' for direct-drive inertial confinement fusion experiments
by Luke Auburn for Rochester News
Rochester NY (SPX) Feb 06, 2024

Scientists from the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) led experiments to demonstrate an effective "spark plug" for direct-drive methods of inertial confinement fusion (ICF). In two studies published in Nature Physics, the authors discuss their results and outline how they can be applied at bigger scales with the hopes of eventually producing fusion at a future facility.

LLE is the largest university-based U.S. Department of Energy program and hosts the OMEGA laser system, which is largest academic laser in the world but still almost one hundredth the energy of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. With OMEGA, Rochester scientists completed several successful attempts to fire 28 kilojoules of laser energy at small capsules filled with deuterium and tritium fuel, causing the capsules to implode and produce a plasma hot enough to initiate fusion reactions between the fuel nuclei. The experiments caused fusion reactions that produced more energy than the amount of energy in the central hot plasma.

The OMEGA experiments use direct laser illumination of the capsule and differ from the indirect drive approach used on the NIF. When using the indirect drive approach, the laser light is converted into X-rays that in turn drive the capsule implosion. The NIF used indirect drive to irradiate a capsule with X-rays using about 2,000 kilojoules of laser energy. This led to a 2022 breakthrough at NIF in achieving fusion ignition-a fusion reaction that creates a net gain of energy from the target.

"Generating more fusion energy than the internal energy content of where the fusion takes place is an important threshold," says lead author of the first paper Connor Williams '23 PhD (physics and astronomy), now a staff scientist at Sandia National Labs in radiation and ICF target design. "That's a necessary requirement for anything you want to accomplish later on, such as burning plasmas or achieving ignition."

By showing they can achieve this level of implosion performance with just 28 kilojoules of laser energy, the Rochester team is excited by the prospect of applying direct-drive methods to lasers with more energy. Demonstrating a spark plug is an important step, however, OMEGA is too small to compress enough fuel to get to ignition.

"If you can eventually create the spark plug and compress fuel, direct drive has a lot of characteristics that are favorable for fusion energy compared to indirect-drive," says Varchas Gopalaswamy '21 PhD (mechanical engineering), the LLE scientist who led the second study that explores the implications of using the direct-drive approach on megajoule-class lasers, similar to the size of the NIF. "After scaling the OMEGA results to a few megajoules of laser energies, the fusion reactions are predicted to become self-sustaining, a condition called 'burning plasmas.'"

Gopalaswamy says that direct-drive ICF is a promising approach for achieving thermonuclear ignition and net energy in laser fusion.

"A major factor contributing to the success of these recent experiments is the development of a novel implosion design method based on statistical predictions and validated by machine learning algorithms" says Riccardo Betti, LLE's chief scientist and the Robert L. McCrory Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. "These predictive models allow us to narrow the pool of promising candidate designs before carrying out valuable experiments."

The Rochester experiments required a highly coordinated effort between large number of scientists, engineers, and technical staff to operate the complex laser facility. They collaborated with researchers from the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center and General Atomics to conduct the experiments. These experiments were funded through the US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration. The target design work resulted from machine-learning applications funded by the DOE Fusion Energy Sciences program.

Full Caption:
A a view from inside the OMEGA target chamber during a direct-drive inertial fusion experiment at the University of Rochester's Laboratory for Laser Energetics. Scientists fired 28 kilojoules of laser energy at small capsules filled with deuterium and tritium fuel, causing the capsules to implode and produce a plasma hot enough to initiate fusion reactions between the fuel nuclei. The temperatures achieved at the heart of these implosions are as high as 100 million degrees Celsius (180 million degrees Fahrenheit). The speed at which the implosion takes place is typically between 500 and 600 kilometers per second (1.1 to 1.35 million miles per hour). The pressures at the core are up to 80 billion times greater than atmospheric pressure.

Research Report:Demonstration of hot-spot fuel gain exceeding unity in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion implosions

Related Links
University of Rochester Laboratory for Laser Energetics
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
ENERGY TECH
Innovative control of fusion plasma achieved through digital twin technology
Tokyo, Japan (SPX) Jan 29, 2024
In a significant advancement for fusion energy, a collaboration of Japanese researchers has demonstrated predictive control of fusion plasma using a digital twin, marking a pivotal step in the development of fusion reactors. This breakthrough, spearheaded by Assistant Professor Yuya Morishita and his team from Kyoto University and the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), offers a promising solution to one of the most challenging aspects of fusion energy production. Fusion energy, long con ... read more

ENERGY TECH
China warns US tech curbs will 'come back to bite them'

Virgin Galactic Marks 11th Spaceflight with Full Passenger Manifest

NASA's latest experiments aboard ISS aim to boost life in space

Northrop Grumman marks 20th ISS resupply mission with Cygnus launch

ENERGY TECH
MITRE and MDC team up to advance at Midland Spaceport

Starlab Partners with SpaceX to Launch Private Space Laboratory into Orbit

Sidus Space's 3D Hybrid satellite 'LizzieSat' ready for launch

Rocket Lab starts busy year with successful booster recovery

ENERGY TECH
As Ingenuity's mission ends a news era in flight on other planets and moons begins

After Three Years on Mars, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter Mission Ends

Confirmation of ancient lake on Mars builds excitement for Perseverance rover's samples

NASA helicopter's mission ends after three years on Mars

ENERGY TECH
BIT advances microbiological research on Chinese Space Station

Shenzhou 18 and 19 crews undertake intensive training for next missions

Tianzhou 6 burns up safely reentering Earth

Yan Hongsen's future dreams as 'Rocket Boy'

ENERGY TECH
Into the Starfield

Sidus ships LizzieSat to Vandenberg for upcoming SpaceX launch

Rocket Lab Launches $275 Million Convertible Note Offering for 2029 Maturity

SpaceFund Welcomes Business Veteran Leo Rodriguez to Board

ENERGY TECH
SmallCAT Laser Terminal Demonstrates Effective Space-Earth Communication in LEO

New rule for catalysts' design is as easy as counting to ten

The ShAPE of buildings to come: Scrap aluminum transforms recycling life cycle

Turning Cooking Oil By-Products and CO2 into Valuable Industrial Additives

ENERGY TECH
UC Irvine-led team unravels mysteries of planet formation and evolution in distant solar system

NASA's Hubble Finds Water Vapor in Small Exoplanet's Atmosphere

TESS finds Super-Earth in habitable zone around nearby red dwarf

New Insights into Earth's Earliest Life Forms Discovered in Palaeoarchaean Rock Samples

ENERGY TECH
New images reveal what Neptune and Uranus really look like

Researchers reveal true colors of Neptune, Uranus

The PI's Perspective: The Long Game

Webb rings in the holidays with the ringed planet Uranus

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.