X-ray opacity measurements on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) are in the process of reproducing earlier measurements from the Sandia Z Facility, in particular for oxygen and iron plasmas. These measurements have the potential to revise our understanding of the "solar problem" and of the hot degenerate Q class white dwarf structure by probing plasma conditions near the base of their convection zones. Accurate opacity measurements using soft x-ray Bragg crystal spectrometers require correction for higher-order diffraction effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrecise modeling of shocks in inertial confinement fusion implosions is critical for obtaining the desired compression in experiments. Shock velocities and postshock conditions are determined by laser-energy deposition, heat conduction, and equations of state. This paper describes experiments at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIndirect Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion Experiments on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) have achieved a burning plasma state with neutron yields exceeding 170 kJ, roughly 3 times the prior record and a necessary stage for igniting plasmas. The results are achieved despite multiple sources of degradations that lead to high variability in performance. Results shown here, for the first time, include an empirical correction factor for mode-2 asymmetry in the burning plasma regime in addition to previously determined corrections for radiative mix and mode-1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn indirect-drive inertial fusion experiment on the National Ignition Facility was driven using 2.05 MJ of laser light at a wavelength of 351 nm and produced 3.1±0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this work we present the design of the first controlled fusion laboratory experiment to reach target gain G>1 N221204 (5 December 2022) [Phys. Rev. Lett.
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