When Peer Review Fails NIF Debacle

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The discussion centers on the criticisms of the National Ignition Facility (NIF), particularly regarding its significant cost escalation from an estimated $400 million to $4 billion and the reduction in beam energy output, which some argue is insufficient for achieving ignition. Participants highlight that management issues, rather than technical failures, are primarily responsible for the project's overruns. There is debate over the NIF's intended purpose, with some asserting it is primarily for nuclear weapons research rather than energy production. The conversation also touches on the handling of the "first wall" problem in reactor design, with claims that this issue has been addressed. Overall, the NIF's progress and the validity of the criticisms against it remain contentious topics.
  • #31
Update: NIF dedication ceremonies were this weekend, it was quite the party with a wide array of government dignitaries in attendance. It's huge, it's real, and it works.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1697260/super_laser_as_hot_as_a_star_unveiled/index.html?source=r_technology
 
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  • #32
JeffKoch said:
Update: NIF dedication ceremonies were this weekend, it was quite the party with a wide array of government dignitaries in attendance. It's huge, it's real, and it works.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1697260/super_laser_as_hot_as_a_star_unveiled/index.html?source=r_technology
Well congratulations to all concerned on some substantial optical engineering. But 'it works'? The National Ignition Facility, works?

...NIF director Edward Moses said that a fusion reactions triggered by the super laser hitting hydrogen atoms will produce more energy than was required to prompt "ignition."
Not he hopes it will, or it might, it simply 'will'? What's published on this? I thought the Centurion Halite experiments indicated 20MJ were needed for ignition? Here we have something https://newsline.llnl.gov/_rev02/articles/2009/mar/03.13.09-nif.php" delivered to the target (still amazing), but is it known that this is enough for ignition?
 
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  • #33


mheslep said:
I thought the Centurion Halite experiments indicated 20MJ were needed for ignition? Here we have something https://newsline.llnl.gov/_rev02/articles/2009/mar/03.13.09-nif.php" delivered to the target (still amazing), but is it known that this is enough for ignition?

We don't know. This is cutting-edge physics research, we try to extrapolate from what we think we know based on past experiments (Nova, Omega, Centurion/Halite (all results are classified so take open literature commentary with many grains of salt)), but there's a non-zero chance that we've made a mistake. If we find that we've made a mistake, we'll work out how to fix it. Nothing is certain in this business, the same is true in any large experimental facility - we build bigger facilities in order to learn more, and that learning curve isn't always predictable in advance.
 
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