why use such complicated technology when cold fusion can provide the same energy with simple procedures? cold fusion is not junk science anymore. google search 'rossi cold fusion'.
@SuperVerdone Fusion reactions are completely safe. In order to maintain a fusion reaction, all of the different parameters that contain the reaction are finely tuned to keep the reaction perpetual. If one of these variables change - the reaction stops immediately and nothing else happens. Fission is much more dangerous than than fusion and we're using nuclear fission in reactors today.
They will not use this to power the planet freely. If they were interested in abundant free energy, they would have invested in tesla technology. Their motives lie elsewhere.
1) Can we just cover the land with solar panels on a massive scale to replace many nuclear/diesel power stations? I don't think that demands much high budget complex research. Why are they so rarely used?
2) Can neutrinos be of any use? I have seen a video of someone claiming to have generated electricity from them.
Seriously, if any of that is possible (apparently not) all humanity's problems would get solved. But I'm sure solar radiation is really underused.
i thought we already had a few different methods for starting a fusion reaction ,like the ones used to start fusion reaction in tocamac reactors,i thought the problem was sustaining the reaction,not creating it,this thing looks like just another way of starting a reaction,i dont see how it could be sustained with this apparatus,where are magnets or tocamac to keep the plasma away from the walls of the containment vessel?&how is more fuel introduced into the core,it only 1 pellet,not sustainable
LMJ will be Mostly used for military nuclear research.
Military nuclear research?And what would we need this for?Is the cold war not over?Or do you just plan to enslave us with this the same as you did oil?
The test for nuclear fusion realisation on Tokamak's installations and with LASER cannot bring anything new for the energetics' future. I bind the thermonuclear controlled reactor schedule by the Sun model , by the reactive electromagnetic motor schedule from Palenque stone's tombe.
there is no phsycial rule in universe , the physcial law we familiar with could work because all the human believe it . its just field , thats why we cant make our spaceship go futher because the physcial law in the earth cant be effective in another part of universe.
according to quntum phyical law , observer could affect the atom , that means our mind could creat anything , dont limited by the physcial law and our small view.
hi how are the beams bounced back and forth through the amplifiers? Are they simply mirrors? Also is the final exit exit from the power amplifier a mechanical process, like shutters opening?
@RoberTastic NIF uses an optical switch called a plasma electrode Pockels cell (PEPC). Developed at LLNL, a Pockels cell rotates the polarization of a beam when voltage is applied across an electro-optic crystal. Depending on the voltage, the Pockels cell either allows light to pass through or to reflect off a polarizer, creating an optical switch. In the NIF beamline, the PEPC allows the laser pulse to make four passes through the main amplifier, building up its energy with each pass.
It's also a shame how the video and wikipedia article on NIF miss the freaking point. All that effort into talking about how they create fusion and no effort on how to turn that back into usable electricity.
The Laser Megajoule laser Fusion facility in Europe is exactly as large as the NIF operating on the same energy level and build for the same research goals. This video conveniently forgot to mention that fact.
@EuroSon99 LMJ is scheduled to begin experiments in the middle of the next decade. NIF is running experiments now. There are other differences as well, including the number of beamlines and layout.
Sorry but to be fair the LMJ is expected to be ready in 2012 followed by experiments. That`s 2 years from now. Also both NIF and LMJ will be Mostly used for military nuclear research. This video blurs this with a quick "global security" while giving a constant impression of a pursuit for commercial energy as the number 1 goal. Besides the issue of laser fusion is still far behind Tokamak research. Firing a laser every few hours instead of 10 times per second is a 100.000 + gap. Just my 2 cents.
@EuroSon99 Do your research before posting comments like this. NIF is expected to have achieved ignition before the LMJ system is even completed. LLNL's Mercury Laser project has also been successful along with General Atomics' gas gun/tracking system. Also what are you talking about "blurs this with a quick 'global security' while giving a constant impression of a pursuit...etc"? This video is "How NIF works" not "what NIF's goals and aspirations are."
@EuroSon99 Many, many people have said that the NIF was unsuitable for any such application of maintaining our nuclear arsenal, or of providing data useful for testing new designs for nuclear weapons. The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) makes it very difficult for ANY program to directly or indirectly provide useful data that could possibly be used to benefit such research.
HOWEVER, whispering that the NIF COULD be used for it secured funding that would have otherwise been denied for it.
We have a technical document online, but YouTube won't allow me to reply in this box with an actual URL. So do a Web search for: "national ignition facility" "title I design" ICF "quarterly report" and select the second listing. It's on page 96, in a box entitled "Why 192 Beams?"
this is fantastic and I pray that fusion becomes a viable form of mass energy production. hopefully this will decrease worldwide violence. this is fantastic. i wish i worked there, of course, i also wish the paycheck was as massive as the potential power output.
This guy sounds weird. Anyway, have they installed heat collectors or some system to turn the energy output into power? I know they're not a power plant, but if they plan to generate more output than input they need a way to measure it. There's several ways to do fusion, and while this may not be the safest or cheapest, it's certainly the coolest (think Spiderman 2 in reality).
Interesting that throughout the entire 5 minute video they never once mention safety!
After the blatant disregard of safety at the BP Horizon disaster, the public has a highlighted interest in making sure that safety is addressed in any endeavor. In future videos I would appreciate hearing about "what could go wrong and this is how we are going to prevent it from happening." Maybe next time?
Numerous safety systems have been incorporated into NIF to assure that all experiments can be safely carried out. The small size of the fusion target, and the fact that the fuel is expended in just a few trillionths of a second, insures against a runaway chain reaction or "meltdown". While the neutrons, X-rays and gamma rays generated in a shot can be harmful if not properly controlled, two-meter-thick concrete walls and doors encase the target bay in a protective shield.
@fermi2 i used to work on a nuclear reactor, and most are very very safe. the problem is humans not following procedure, which is the primary cause of all nuclear power plant accidents, and it wasnt erroneous, it was blatant disregard for procedures, like lighting the gas plume on fire when u are gassing up your car, not like answering ur cellhpone while gassing up your car.
@fermi2 What's the worst that could happen? Parasitic reflections fry some rods, pop a pumper flashlamp or two, burn a few mirrors out, vaporise some alloy, actually create fusion for a billionth of a second with a little speck of deuterium and make a bit of a bang (which it's designed to do)? Meh. Beer time... :]
We have a technical document online, but YouTube won't allow me to reply in this box with an actual URL. So do a Web search for: "national ignition facility" "title I design" ICF "quarterly report" and select the second listing. It's on page 96, in a box entitled "Why 192 Beams?"
Will any of the scientist ever consider there is a possibility that fusion will eventually and growth like the star beyond control to destroy us and the planet?
@utubmania2009 There is only a tiny amount of hydrogen fuel inside the target capsule, which is the size of a BB. Once the fuel is exhausted, the fusion process ends. In a star like our Sun, the amount of fuel is huge, so the fusion continues for millions or billions of years. That cannot happen at NIF.
@LivermoreLab I still don't think is a good ideal to mess around it before we fully understand how the stars able pull together such huge quantity of concentrated hydrogen from.
@utubmania2009 We use fusion in our biggest bombs and none of them come close to "blowing up the world" this is safe and by the way the only way to learn is to do it ourselves
@LivermoreLab lol i cant stand ppl and their ignorant questions. perhaps oil is destroying our planet right now, with wars, pollution, economic disparity.........
They made this whole video about how controlled the light is, but in the end, there is this inexplicable explosion! I almost laughed. How is an explosion of part of the assembly a controlled system?
black holes only have as much gravity as the matter that created it... nothing on Earth is large enough to "suck" another Earth object in due to gravity, so even if (hypothetically) the mini star created a black hole, it wouldn't just start sucking shit into oblivion. (at least, that's how it was explained to me by the guys at the McDonald Observatory in Texas...)
What a joke. Laser fusion energy is about 5 decades behind Fusion energy from tokamak designs. Tokamak`s have been advanced so far they are now on the verge of actual useful power plants with the now under construction ITER reactor in Europe. The DEMO reactor to follow will actually produce real power useful for the GRID. I`m all for more then 1 option but laser fusion producing useful grid energy anytime soon is the best joke of the century. Though I would probably say the same to get funding.
I helped build that place. I did alot of cement work there. That building is huge and crazy. I knew it would be something amazing but MANNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!
there is a bbc documentary out about this institute , i think it was Horizon, making a star on earth. it explains in great detail about all lazer ignition facilitys.
1 cubic kilometre of water = the equivilent energy of all Earths oil supplies :)
This is a brilliant project which I'm sure will benefit mankind dispite any problems that it may encounter. It's such a superb solution to our energy problems. I hope it all goes well. :)
It seems the best hope for super clean and unlimited energy. May it succeed...The planet needs it badly...as our energy and global warming crisis is real...and needs to be addressed boldly.
Best of luck to all involved.....This includes ourselves...the non-scientists.
It looks like that pellet gets consumed in pico seconds. Is that the case or does last longer? How far would this have to be scaled up to have a sustained ignition? How would it be contained? How much fuel would it consume per hour? What type of energy transduction is envisioned, i.e. Photons to electricity, heat to steam?
Just learned a little about this on the the Science Channel, this video was a little more enlightening though, checked more about it out on Wikipedia and I'm glad to have learned they plan on finally trying to test ignition by 2010; though big science projects like this or the LHC can have big delays, but I'm stoked to hear about whether this technology will be successful, 'cause it'll be big news for the world if it works like it's supposed to.
I can't believe I'm only learning about this today... this is possibly more interesting than the LHC as you have essentially built a ground based version of the death star. I have got to get a PHD in physics already... I read you guys also ordered the worlds most powerful supercomputer, let me know if it can run crysis on very high at 60+ frames per second.
Seriously though this is awesome and I hope you guys get great results when you finally fire it up for a real test.
Yes the laser does work. NIF is currently conducting experiments leading up to fusion experimentation. Our fusion experiments will begin in late summer or early fall of 2010.
How will fusion be used to drive a generator, though? Is it going to be used to heat a coolant which will then be put through a boiler to drive turbines?
@Nihilanthic same way as any other power plant. creates heat, heat exchange boils water and high pressure steam turns turbine. Neutrons heat lithium moderator i think
Great animation, and very informative. Just what I've been looking for.. Would anyone know how long the fusion reaction lasts? Going by the animation it looks like its over as soon as it starts. I'm also interested in how this reaction would look to the naked eye? Would we see a flash of blinding light or nothing at all? I'm guessing nothing at all as it would be too fast to notice, even with its enormous intensity. In any case, this machine will be a diamond for science.
The fusion reaction will last billionths of a second, however, we have not begun those experiments. Currently NIF is conducting experiments to prepare for the ignition campaign, which will begin in late summer, early fall of 2010.
My aunt works at the lab, and sent my family the link to this video. Hello Mary Ann! Great stuff you guys are working on. Maybe I can get a tour the next time I am in CA for a visit.
My dad works on this project as a parts designer and he sent me the link to this. I must say that now I've seen this, I understand what he's always talking about better.
harrymook, that's correct. The aneutronic proton+boron fusion reaction scheme creates mainly beta-particles (nuclear electrons) that can be picked up by graphite electrodes and can deliver electricity without a thermal cycle. Unfortunatly, this clean and powerful system requires much higher fusion temperatures and requires a technology, that goes under the NPT (Non-proliferation treaty) So it can be used in military power plants only.
why use such complicated technology when cold fusion can provide the same energy with simple procedures? cold fusion is not junk science anymore. google search 'rossi cold fusion'.
samann95014 3 months ago
They should put this laser in an orbital station and use it for defense like the hammer of dawn lol
talibanking 7 months ago
Wow
B0ombastix 7 months ago
@SuperVerdone Fusion reactions are completely safe. In order to maintain a fusion reaction, all of the different parameters that contain the reaction are finely tuned to keep the reaction perpetual. If one of these variables change - the reaction stops immediately and nothing else happens. Fission is much more dangerous than than fusion and we're using nuclear fission in reactors today.
Aspartame0 7 months ago
popular science sent me
gomer1021 7 months ago
This stuff sounds awesome but,is this safe?Is it safer than nuclear powerstations?I mean,making a mini-star in a lab is serious stuff.
onewhopwns 7 months ago
@SuperVerdone People said the same thing about the Hadron Collider. People shouldn't spread fear if they don't understand it.
Seiku 7 months ago
@LivermoreLab If fusion is achieved, what plans are being made to capture this burst of energy?
benner2000 8 months ago
How exactly does the conversion from infrared to ultraviolet light occur?
EquinoxParadox91 8 months ago
Looks expensive, I hope it works!
egn83b 9 months ago
They will not use this to power the planet freely. If they were interested in abundant free energy, they would have invested in tesla technology. Their motives lie elsewhere.
onsaphi 9 months ago
I have a feeling that this is not good...
onsaphi 9 months ago
nice work.................
29riteshkakkar 10 months ago
How and how often is fuel inserted to the reaction chamber? How is energy collected?
If reaction chamber is very hot then would not the capsule containing fuel lose its reflective properties? How long between laser impulses?
Looks like a "one shot and wait " system.
niilatfan 10 months ago
These questions bother me a lot:
1) Can we just cover the land with solar panels on a massive scale to replace many nuclear/diesel power stations? I don't think that demands much high budget complex research. Why are they so rarely used?
2) Can neutrinos be of any use? I have seen a video of someone claiming to have generated electricity from them.
Seriously, if any of that is possible (apparently not) all humanity's problems would get solved. But I'm sure solar radiation is really underused.
meteor4163 11 months ago
i thought we already had a few different methods for starting a fusion reaction ,like the ones used to start fusion reaction in tocamac reactors,i thought the problem was sustaining the reaction,not creating it,this thing looks like just another way of starting a reaction,i dont see how it could be sustained with this apparatus,where are magnets or tocamac to keep the plasma away from the walls of the containment vessel?&how is more fuel introduced into the core,it only 1 pellet,not sustainable
bulletproof2353 11 months ago
What's the ratio of energy put into the reaction to energy received from the reaction?
Pr0metheusMusic 11 months ago
LMJ will be Mostly used for military nuclear research.
Military nuclear research?And what would we need this for?Is the cold war not over?Or do you just plan to enslave us with this the same as you did oil?
IdunCareLesSn00b 1 year ago
SandustanBrasov
The test for nuclear fusion realisation on Tokamak's installations and with LASER cannot bring anything new for the energetics' future. I bind the thermonuclear controlled reactor schedule by the Sun model , by the reactive electromagnetic motor schedule from Palenque stone's tombe.
sandustanBrasov 1 year ago
They tried 191 beams but this was not enough
jsymons1985 1 year ago
Once you get the fusion reaction how do you convert this energy into electricity?
jsymons1985 1 year ago
there is no phsycial rule in universe , the physcial law we familiar with could work because all the human believe it . its just field , thats why we cant make our spaceship go futher because the physcial law in the earth cant be effective in another part of universe.
according to quntum phyical law , observer could affect the atom , that means our mind could creat anything , dont limited by the physcial law and our small view.
we need to create a spaceship with mind control
zheng1985 1 year ago
I think America will spend money for nothing.
RoyalFlushWinner 1 year ago
i might not be a genius but thats just stupid i mean the sun is so hot if it was on earth it would burn us
xMixItDownX 1 year ago
Hello Livermore !
Have you already done something with this nice instrument ?
THX
43932 1 year ago
hi how are the beams bounced back and forth through the amplifiers? Are they simply mirrors? Also is the final exit exit from the power amplifier a mechanical process, like shutters opening?
RoberTastic 1 year ago
@RoberTastic NIF uses an optical switch called a plasma electrode Pockels cell (PEPC). Developed at LLNL, a Pockels cell rotates the polarization of a beam when voltage is applied across an electro-optic crystal. Depending on the voltage, the Pockels cell either allows light to pass through or to reflect off a polarizer, creating an optical switch. In the NIF beamline, the PEPC allows the laser pulse to make four passes through the main amplifier, building up its energy with each pass.
LivermoreLab 1 year ago 3
If I worked there they would hate me, i mean the amount dr.Evil, "FIRE ZEE LASER" jokes i would make, oh man.
BonScottAC 1 year ago
My professor said that this would be the future of energy use. Being able ti output energy level several times larger than the input in.
I am an electrical engineer student right now, how can I get myself started in this field?
scorpion8588 1 year ago
@scorpion8588
Start studying physics.
niiidar 1 year ago
@scorpion8588 I have no idea, sorry. But do you know anything about laser amplifiers?
To my surprise I just don't understand how they work. (found optical amplifiers on wikipedia, couldn't post link)
Luminiteee 10 months ago
Love the idea here. Surely this will kill us all in 2012 as predicted but at least we tried :P
The music throughout the video is annoying and distracting. Way too loud.
Iamthemonkeyhead 1 year ago
what is the name of the music at begining ?
zheng1985 1 year ago
its not far to hyperspace drive for spaceship . if this divice could be smaller to be set up on spaceship
zheng1985 1 year ago
It's also a shame how the video and wikipedia article on NIF miss the freaking point. All that effort into talking about how they create fusion and no effort on how to turn that back into usable electricity.
obsidience 1 year ago
The Laser Megajoule laser Fusion facility in Europe is exactly as large as the NIF operating on the same energy level and build for the same research goals. This video conveniently forgot to mention that fact.
EuroSon99 1 year ago
@EuroSon99 LMJ is scheduled to begin experiments in the middle of the next decade. NIF is running experiments now. There are other differences as well, including the number of beamlines and layout.
LivermoreLab 1 year ago 4
Sorry but to be fair the LMJ is expected to be ready in 2012 followed by experiments. That`s 2 years from now. Also both NIF and LMJ will be Mostly used for military nuclear research. This video blurs this with a quick "global security" while giving a constant impression of a pursuit for commercial energy as the number 1 goal. Besides the issue of laser fusion is still far behind Tokamak research. Firing a laser every few hours instead of 10 times per second is a 100.000 + gap. Just my 2 cents.
EuroSon99 1 year ago
@EuroSon99 According to the LMJ website:
"Les premières expériences sont prévues au milieu de la prochaine décennie. The first experiments are scheduled in the middle of next decade."
LivermoreLab 1 year ago 4
@EuroSon99 Do your research before posting comments like this. NIF is expected to have achieved ignition before the LMJ system is even completed. LLNL's Mercury Laser project has also been successful along with General Atomics' gas gun/tracking system. Also what are you talking about "blurs this with a quick 'global security' while giving a constant impression of a pursuit...etc"? This video is "How NIF works" not "what NIF's goals and aspirations are."
swimminsurfer256 10 months ago
@EuroSon99 Many, many people have said that the NIF was unsuitable for any such application of maintaining our nuclear arsenal, or of providing data useful for testing new designs for nuclear weapons. The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) makes it very difficult for ANY program to directly or indirectly provide useful data that could possibly be used to benefit such research.
HOWEVER, whispering that the NIF COULD be used for it secured funding that would have otherwise been denied for it.
Prometheus1st 9 months ago
i say it will explode
davidskatersoccer 1 year ago
What could possibly go wrong?
gvanderleun 1 year ago
what if a rat is crawling through the end point of the laser tunnel?
shinova86 1 year ago
whats that video clip at :56 seconds? looks like an implosion
SONAR1111 1 year ago
Why did they end up having 192 beams? Why not 500 :D? 1000?
Damaruth 1 year ago
@Damaruth
We have a technical document online, but YouTube won't allow me to reply in this box with an actual URL. So do a Web search for: "national ignition facility" "title I design" ICF "quarterly report" and select the second listing. It's on page 96, in a box entitled "Why 192 Beams?"
LivermoreLab 1 year ago 3
@LivermoreLab thanks man :D will check it out!
Damaruth 1 year ago
its a shame how people dont find this stuff interesting, i think its awesome, but everyone else worries about mainstream shit.
350z350zify 1 year ago
Is there a solid date for the test? I thought I read August 2010 but dates get tweeked. Update?
Saturday8pm 1 year ago
I hope they didn't build this place on a fault line!
Samsgarden 1 year ago
this is fantastic and I pray that fusion becomes a viable form of mass energy production. hopefully this will decrease worldwide violence. this is fantastic. i wish i worked there, of course, i also wish the paycheck was as massive as the potential power output.
covingtonium 1 year ago
woot a black hole. this is what i call going out with a bang!
ryanmail2004 1 year ago
This guy sounds weird. Anyway, have they installed heat collectors or some system to turn the energy output into power? I know they're not a power plant, but if they plan to generate more output than input they need a way to measure it. There's several ways to do fusion, and while this may not be the safest or cheapest, it's certainly the coolest (think Spiderman 2 in reality).
Hypergalactica 1 year ago
I feel like the sphere that they have this fusion experiment taking place in wont be able to hold all the energy
Julst 1 year ago
Interesting that throughout the entire 5 minute video they never once mention safety!
After the blatant disregard of safety at the BP Horizon disaster, the public has a highlighted interest in making sure that safety is addressed in any endeavor. In future videos I would appreciate hearing about "what could go wrong and this is how we are going to prevent it from happening." Maybe next time?
fermi2 1 year ago
@fermi2
Numerous safety systems have been incorporated into NIF to assure that all experiments can be safely carried out. The small size of the fusion target, and the fact that the fuel is expended in just a few trillionths of a second, insures against a runaway chain reaction or "meltdown". While the neutrons, X-rays and gamma rays generated in a shot can be harmful if not properly controlled, two-meter-thick concrete walls and doors encase the target bay in a protective shield.
LivermoreLab 1 year ago 7
@fermi2 i used to work on a nuclear reactor, and most are very very safe. the problem is humans not following procedure, which is the primary cause of all nuclear power plant accidents, and it wasnt erroneous, it was blatant disregard for procedures, like lighting the gas plume on fire when u are gassing up your car, not like answering ur cellhpone while gassing up your car.
covingtonium 1 year ago
@fermi2 What's the worst that could happen? Parasitic reflections fry some rods, pop a pumper flashlamp or two, burn a few mirrors out, vaporise some alloy, actually create fusion for a billionth of a second with a little speck of deuterium and make a bit of a bang (which it's designed to do)? Meh. Beer time... :]
WoodsyDotOrg 1 year ago
THANKS FOR WHAT U ARE DONING NIF, I HOPE THAT ALL YOUR EFFORT ON IT WILL HELP THE WORLD TO BECOME A BETTER PLACE.
This kind of engine could be used in future as space ship engine.
cooboxlinux 1 year ago
the Europeans focus on making a donut produce fusion. We build a giant death ray! America Fuck Yeah!
charleshoskinson 1 year ago
why 192 lasers? why not 200? or 175?
grogtgs 1 year ago
@grogtgs
We have a technical document online, but YouTube won't allow me to reply in this box with an actual URL. So do a Web search for: "national ignition facility" "title I design" ICF "quarterly report" and select the second listing. It's on page 96, in a box entitled "Why 192 Beams?"
LivermoreLab 1 year ago
Will any of the scientist ever consider there is a possibility that fusion will eventually and growth like the star beyond control to destroy us and the planet?
utubmania2009 1 year ago
@utubmania2009 There is only a tiny amount of hydrogen fuel inside the target capsule, which is the size of a BB. Once the fuel is exhausted, the fusion process ends. In a star like our Sun, the amount of fuel is huge, so the fusion continues for millions or billions of years. That cannot happen at NIF.
LivermoreLab 1 year ago
@LivermoreLab I still don't think is a good ideal to mess around it before we fully understand how the stars able pull together such huge quantity of concentrated hydrogen from.
utubmania2009 1 year ago
@utubmania2009 We use fusion in our biggest bombs and none of them come close to "blowing up the world" this is safe and by the way the only way to learn is to do it ourselves
Darkwizzrobe 1 year ago
@utubmania2009 and how do you propose to learn then?
covingtonium 1 year ago
@LivermoreLab lol i cant stand ppl and their ignorant questions. perhaps oil is destroying our planet right now, with wars, pollution, economic disparity.........
covingtonium 1 year ago
Roll over LHC, this is our new doomsday weapon.
It sound all very interesting. I'm going to have to look up more about it.
frogqueen 1 year ago
They made this whole video about how controlled the light is, but in the end, there is this inexplicable explosion! I almost laughed. How is an explosion of part of the assembly a controlled system?
ttmfg 1 year ago
We are living in a sci-fi book from decades ago, and it kinda rocks!
everythingeco 1 year ago
can someone quickly brief me how is IR converted to UV? some kind of wavelength amplifier? what is in that thing? thx Jan
OK2BCK 1 year ago
IMMA FIRING MAH LAZOOOOOR!!! WOOOOHAAAAAAAA!!!!
pogodrummer 1 year ago
holy crap!!!
Krastev23 1 year ago
what the music title? very cool :)
love human innovation and crossing bariers
sraken666 1 year ago
In France is a big project underway. It's called ITER.
NIF and ITER have are verydiffrent proect but both focus on fusion energy.
korzoable 1 year ago
is that new Spiderman 2 trailer?
91zozol 1 year ago
Very interresting, but that music is nasty!
trackdayklub 1 year ago
USA! USA!
MercenarySlick 1 year ago
@MercenarySlick science is not to be divided geopolitically, please, we are all one people
OK2BCK 1 year ago
Very exciting! (minus the cheesy dramatic soundtrack)
clovismcpony 1 year ago
we should combine this with the hadron colider :D where the point of the lasers converge, so do the protons. What would happen then? :D
StL33T 1 year ago
i stuck my weiner into the disc drive when i saw this video . . . . me happy :)
keggerous 1 year ago
I really hope this works..
cheadessolupa 1 year ago
Lets hope their little sun doesn't collapse and create a mini Black Hole. (That would be bad)
prostovanka 1 year ago
@prostovanka LHC revision 2?
nyuuzero 1 year ago
@prostovanka
black holes only have as much gravity as the matter that created it... nothing on Earth is large enough to "suck" another Earth object in due to gravity, so even if (hypothetically) the mini star created a black hole, it wouldn't just start sucking shit into oblivion. (at least, that's how it was explained to me by the guys at the McDonald Observatory in Texas...)
dinkydau444 1 year ago
that was the most boring video ever, and i'm usually interested into these videos, but interesting nonetheless
raydar670 1 year ago
Exciting!!
Koyukonn 1 year ago
WOW! Sounds like a HUGE waste of taxpayer money!
yakyakyak69 1 year ago
how do they contain the energy? and how do they acquire it from the reaction?
Eace420 1 year ago
holey shit.... this is awesome news.... We are coming a long way
kaddy01980 1 year ago
im hoping this will be the event to define this century.. good luck all you boffins lets hope we can get some unlimited energy and save the world
mcfurley 1 year ago
so, did they ma the shot?
Erniz2 1 year ago
@Erniz2
NIF expects to begin fusion ignition experiments in the latter part of 2010. Stay tuned!
LivermoreLab 1 year ago
Now witness the firepower of this fully armed and operational National Ignition Facility!
dmcfarli 1 year ago 8
What a joke. Laser fusion energy is about 5 decades behind Fusion energy from tokamak designs. Tokamak`s have been advanced so far they are now on the verge of actual useful power plants with the now under construction ITER reactor in Europe. The DEMO reactor to follow will actually produce real power useful for the GRID. I`m all for more then 1 option but laser fusion producing useful grid energy anytime soon is the best joke of the century. Though I would probably say the same to get funding.
NederlandSagan 1 year ago
I guess the media just want to tell you American Science is behind the rest of the world when in reality it's still ahead.
shaftster2001 1 year ago
I helped build that place. I did alot of cement work there. That building is huge and crazy. I knew it would be something amazing but MANNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!
2calicali 1 year ago 2
fasinating
whoopssinead 1 year ago
music sucks. great animation
seblons 1 year ago
there is a bbc documentary out about this institute , i think it was Horizon, making a star on earth. it explains in great detail about all lazer ignition facilitys.
thirdeye147 2 years ago 11
You can view the "Horizon" segment about NIF by clicking the link located to the right of this comment, in the "More from: LivermoreLab" section.
LivermoreLab 1 year ago
The music sucked...too loud, cheesy as hell.
ophello 2 years ago
AWSOME THATS BRILLIANT GREAT JOB NIF
ComandnConquerFreak 2 years ago
1 cubic kilometre of water = the equivilent energy of all Earths oil supplies :)
This is a brilliant project which I'm sure will benefit mankind dispite any problems that it may encounter. It's such a superb solution to our energy problems. I hope it all goes well. :)
BioChinga 2 years ago
Awesome! So close to fusion . . so very close.
TrickyGap 2 years ago
Well done NIF !! Looks like ignition is just around the corner
vivriano 2 years ago
It seems the best hope for super clean and unlimited energy. May it succeed...The planet needs it badly...as our energy and global warming crisis is real...and needs to be addressed boldly.
Best of luck to all involved.....This includes ourselves...the non-scientists.
followthefleet1 2 years ago
It looks like that pellet gets consumed in pico seconds. Is that the case or does last longer? How far would this have to be scaled up to have a sustained ignition? How would it be contained? How much fuel would it consume per hour? What type of energy transduction is envisioned, i.e. Photons to electricity, heat to steam?
Duchamp07 2 years ago
Just learned a little about this on the the Science Channel, this video was a little more enlightening though, checked more about it out on Wikipedia and I'm glad to have learned they plan on finally trying to test ignition by 2010; though big science projects like this or the LHC can have big delays, but I'm stoked to hear about whether this technology will be successful, 'cause it'll be big news for the world if it works like it's supposed to.
lamprey263 2 years ago
Overscience is BAD.
wickedflames123 2 years ago
I can't believe I'm only learning about this today... this is possibly more interesting than the LHC as you have essentially built a ground based version of the death star. I have got to get a PHD in physics already... I read you guys also ordered the worlds most powerful supercomputer, let me know if it can run crysis on very high at 60+ frames per second.
Seriously though this is awesome and I hope you guys get great results when you finally fire it up for a real test.
goffskullz 2 years ago
Brilliant minds at work!
kittyglitter07 2 years ago
does it work?!! did they test fire it?
Buddyb309 2 years ago
Yes the laser does work. NIF is currently conducting experiments leading up to fusion experimentation. Our fusion experiments will begin in late summer or early fall of 2010.
LivermoreLab 2 years ago
OMG!!!! I'M SO FREAKING PUMPED!! Is there a news letter I can follow?
Buddyb309 2 years ago
How will fusion be used to drive a generator, though? Is it going to be used to heat a coolant which will then be put through a boiler to drive turbines?
Nihilanthic 2 years ago
@Nihilanthic same way as any other power plant. creates heat, heat exchange boils water and high pressure steam turns turbine. Neutrons heat lithium moderator i think
Leadyb 2 years ago
It's totally nuts!!! very fucking awesome
wiinolo 2 years ago
Great animation, and very informative. Just what I've been looking for.. Would anyone know how long the fusion reaction lasts? Going by the animation it looks like its over as soon as it starts. I'm also interested in how this reaction would look to the naked eye? Would we see a flash of blinding light or nothing at all? I'm guessing nothing at all as it would be too fast to notice, even with its enormous intensity. In any case, this machine will be a diamond for science.
avarlives 2 years ago
The fusion reaction will last billionths of a second, however, we have not begun those experiments. Currently NIF is conducting experiments to prepare for the ignition campaign, which will begin in late summer, early fall of 2010.
LivermoreLab 2 years ago
My aunt works at the lab, and sent my family the link to this video. Hello Mary Ann! Great stuff you guys are working on. Maybe I can get a tour the next time I am in CA for a visit.
twolf422 2 years ago
My dad works on this project as a parts designer and he sent me the link to this. I must say that now I've seen this, I understand what he's always talking about better.
commentgirl101 2 years ago
I'm glad that you found the video useful. NIF is really a terrific project and you can be proud that your dad is working on it.
LivermoreLab 2 years ago
harrymook, that's correct. The aneutronic proton+boron fusion reaction scheme creates mainly beta-particles (nuclear electrons) that can be picked up by graphite electrodes and can deliver electricity without a thermal cycle. Unfortunatly, this clean and powerful system requires much higher fusion temperatures and requires a technology, that goes under the NPT (Non-proliferation treaty) So it can be used in military power plants only.
;-((
sacha4you 2 years ago
It is a shame that this only has 114 views at the time of this post, while countless pieces of idiot garbage have been viewed by millions.
ColonelDrego 2 years ago 50
@ColonelDrego agreed, but thankfully its in the tens of thousands now, probably dues to it being posted on sites such as gizmodo and such
mobilegamer998 1 year ago