Editing Inertial confinement fusion (section)

{{short description|Branch of fusion energy research}}{{multiple image
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| image1            = Fusion microcapsule.jpg
| image2            = U.S. Department of Energy - Science - 115 033 004 (9575298575).jpg
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# A [[deuterium-tritium]] target pellet
# A depiction of the [[hohlraum]] absorbing lasers and emitting X-rays 
# The target chamber interior of the [[National Ignition Facility]], US
# The NIF laser bay
# The target chamber of [[Shiva laser|Shiva]] at [[LLNL]], US
# The target chamber of [[Orion (laser)|Orion]], UK
# Diagram of Helios, an early [[LANL]] experiment
# Diagram of [[Laser Inertial Fusion Energy|LIFE]], an LLNL ICF power plant concept
# The 2022 NIF announcement of the first [[fusion energy gain factor]] greater than one
| image10           = National Ignition Facility Breakeven press conference.png
| image3            = NIF target chamber 2.jpg
| image6            = Orion target chamber.jpg
| image7            = U.S._Department_of_Energy_-_Science_-_282_002_003_(16448798361).jpg
}}
'''Inertial confinement fusion''' ('''ICF''') is a [[fusion energy]] process that initiates [[nuclear fusion]] reactions by compressing and heating targets filled with fuel. The targets are small pellets, typically containing [[deuterium]] (<sup>2</sup>H) and [[tritium]] (<sup>3</sup>H).

Typically, [[Ultrashort pulse laser|short pulse lasers]] deposit energy on a [[hohlraum]]. Its inner surface vaporizes, releasing [[X-ray]]s. These converge on the pellet's exterior, turning it into a [[Plasma (physics)|plasma]]. This produces a reaction force in the form of [[shock wave]]s that travel through the target. The waves compress and heat it. Sufficiently powerful shock waves achieve the [[Lawson criterion]] for fusion of the fuel.

ICF is one of two major branches of fusion research; the other is [[magnetic confinement fusion]] (MCF). When first proposed in the early 1970s, ICF appeared to be a practical approach to power production and the field flourished. Experiments demonstrated that the efficiency of these devices was much lower than expected. Throughout the 1980s and '90s, experiments were conducted in order to understand the interaction of high-intensity laser light and [[plasma (physics)|plasma]]. These led to the design of much larger machines that achieved ignition-generating energies. Nonetheless, MCF currently dominates power-generation approaches.

Unlike MCF, ICF has direct [[dual-use]] applications to the study of [[thermonuclear weapon]] detonation. For [[nuclear state]]s, ICF forms a component of [[stockpile stewardship]]. This allows the allocation of not only scientific but military funding.<ref name="l317">{{cite web |last=Makhijani |first=Arjun |date=2024-12-13 |title=The entanglement of fusion energy research and bombs |url=https://thebulletin.org/premium/2024-11/the-entanglement-of-fusion-energy-research-and-bombs/ |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists}}</ref>

California's [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]] has dominated ICF history, and operates the largest ICF experiment, the [[National Ignition Facility]] (NIF). In 2022, an NIF deuterium-tritium shot yielded 3.15 megajoules (MJ) from a delivered energy of 2.05 MJ, the first time that any fusion device produced an [[Fusion energy gain factor|energy gain factor]] above one.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Ignition Facility achieves fusion ignition |url=https://www.llnl.gov/news/national-ignition-facility-achieves-fusion-ignition |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=Adrienne Vogt|author2=Mike Hayes|author3=Ella Nilsen|author4= Elise Hammond |date=2022-12-13 |title=December 13, 2022 US officials announce nuclear fusion breakthrough |url=https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/nuclear-fusion-reaction-us-announcement-12-13-22/index.html |access-date=2022-12-14 |website=CNN |language=en}}</ref>

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