Posted on 05/30/2009 5:41:15 PM PDT by saganite
A US weapons lab on Friday pulled back the curtain on a super laser with the power to burn as hot as a star. The National Ignition Facility's main purpose is to serve as a tool for gauging the reliability and safety of the US nuclear weapons arsenal but scientists say it could deliver breakthroughs in safe fusion power.
"We have invented the world's largest laser system," actor-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said during a dedication ceremony attended by thousands including state and national officials.
"We can create the stars right here on earth. And I can see already my friends in Hollywood being very upset that their stuff that they show on the big screen is obsolete. We have the real stuff right here."
NIF is touted as the world's highest-energy laser system. It is located inside the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory about an hour's drive from San Francisco.
Equipment connected to a house-sized sphere can focus 192 laser beams on a small point, generating temperatures and pressures that exist at cores of stars or giant planets.
NIF will be able to create conditions and conduct experiments never before possible on Earth, according to the laboratory.
A fusion reaction triggered by the super laser hitting hydrogen atoms will produce more energy than was required to prompt "ignition," according to NIF director Edward Moses.
"This is the long-sought goal of 'energy gain' that has been the goal of fusion researchers for more than half a century," Moses said.
"NIF's success will be a scientific breakthrough of historic significance; the first demonstration of fusion ignition in a laboratory setting, duplicating on Earth the processes that power the stars."
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
I have to say, though, I like this part.
Equipment connected to a house-sized sphere can focus 192 laser beams on a small point...
That's no house-sized sphere... it's a space station!
If properly applied, and allowed to move forward judiciously, and with the correct funding...this could be one of the biggest discoveries in our life times and have startling implications for our future.
"We can create the stars right here on earth. And I can see already my friends in Hollywood being very upset that their stuff that they show on the big screen is obsolete. We have the real stuff right here."
Who is going to pay for promoting the future endeavors of this laser system worthy of this government pride?
"We", Kimosabee?
Not all govt programs are a waste of money. It just seems that way with Obama in charge.
Just an of late trend, eh? ; )
So, in other words, the Chinese are going to end up doing it?
Oh, come on, am I the first to think of this? All it needs is a few ventilation ducts the size of a small womp rat.
Now, all we need are some really BIG genetically-engineered frickin’ sharks on whose heads we can mount the lasers. . .
No way, not yet!
They don't own enough U.S. vouchers yet to feel comfortable paying for it.
Not necessarily. They will surely attempt to steal the data and technique...if they haven’t already. But in these areas we are still far ahead and can, if we have the forsight and the will, complete the research and progress towards practical civilian applications...meaning ultimately very cheap and abundant power, ourselves.
Pretty much a late trend, yep. I was thinking of the effort that won WWII so you could say it’s a bit late. However, I’m not willing to consign high budget items like this to wasteful spending yet. Even a blind squirrel finds an acorn now and then.
but can it get through the atmosphere with enough energy to disintegrate an incoming missile or aircraft?
If they live long enough to get lucky, yes.
Wait till they get their electric bill. Its in CA after all.
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