Government officials have decided that a super high-tech facility with emerging laser technology will no longer put most of its focus on a futuristic energy source. Instead, it will now be spending half of its efforts and resources on how the technology can be used in the application of nuclear weapons.
The change marks an admitted setback for the hopeful scientists at the US National Ignition Facility (NIF) and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. They are convinced that it will be possible to some day use laser beams as an energy source. The basic process — known as ignition — would take place when hydrogen isotope pellets were smashed with powerful laser beams. By imploding hundreds or even thousands of pellets every minute, huge amounts of energy could be produced — as much as a power plant.
This process was of great interest and excitement to Congress. Legislators approved large amounts of funding to the group, on the assumption that a new energy source could be developed within a few years.
Unfortunately, the reality is that actually turning this technology into a sustainable and reliable energy source is something that will take decades, if it even happens at all. Now, Congress is forcing the NIF to re-allocate its use of federal funds.
The NIF will now only be able to spend 50% of its resources on ignition research. And, as a trade-off, it will now be mandated to spend more time with the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
One project at the forefront is creating experiments that can simulate the conditions inside nuclear weapons. The goal is to assess the phase of nuclear weaponry where fission begins. This phase is comprised of the same chemical combination that was being manipulated in the energy research.
That research will still continue, but it will be a slower, more staggered process as attention is shifted to other areas.