NIF Again?

[Chris Bradley]

This was published today at the USPTO, and I attach it here, for information.

[...I am tempted to read more into this than I should, so I'll let you reach your own conclusions? ]


>>>>>>>

United States Patent Application 20110286563

Moses; Edward I.; et al. November 24, 2011
Control of a Laser Inertial Confinement Fusion-Fission Power Plant

Abstract
A laser inertial-confinement fusion-fission energy power plant is described. The fusion-fission hybrid system uses inertial confinement fusion to produce neutrons from a fusion reaction of deuterium and tritium. The fusion neutrons drive a sub-critical blanket of fissile or fertile fuel. A coolant circulated through the fuel extracts heat from the fuel that is used to generate electricity. The inertial confinement fusion reaction can be implemented using central hot spot or fast ignition fusion, and direct or indirect drive. The fusion neutrons result in ultra-deep burn-up of the fuel in the fission blanket, thus enabling the burning of nuclear waste. Fuels include depleted uranium, natural uranium, enriched uranium, spent nuclear fuel, thorium, and weapons grade plutonium. LIFE engines can meet worldwide electricity needs in a safe and sustainable manner, while drastically shrinking the highly undesirable stockpiles of depleted uranium, spent nuclear fuel and excess weapons materials.

Inventors: Moses; Edward I.; (Livermore, CA) ; de la Rubia; Thomas Diaz; (Alamo, CA) ; Latkowski; Jeffery F.; (Livermore, CA) ; Farmer; Joseph; (Tracy, CA) ; Storm; Erik; (Walnut Creek, CA) ; Abbott; Ryan P.; (Fremont, CA)
Assignee: LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL SECURITY, LLC, Livermore. CA

[Frank Sanns]

These people are really morons for publishing this. Really. You can quote me.

Frank Sanns

[Chris Bradley]

http://optics.org/news/3/1/37

"Deputizing for NIF director Ed Moses in a Photonics West 2012 plenary talk, Dunne said that the ignition campaign was now in its latter stages. “We are now in a position to say with some confidence that ignition will happen in the next 6-18 months,” stated the former head of the HiPER European laser fusion project, adding that he felt personally that the breakthrough was likely to happen in around nine months."

(...enuf said!!)

[Steven Sesselmann]

How on earth do they intend to harness the energy from this devise, if by some fluke a small amount of the fuel actually ignited?

My guess is that the next announcement will be that the experiment was an overwhelming success and that they now have so much data it will take years to fully analyze it.

Ooh, and that fusion power is just around the corner.

Steven

[Richard Hull]

Ignition at NIF!!!?

What is ignition for them?

Start the reaction and keep it going ala putt-putt boat laser pulsing?

As usual, real soon now. They gotta' keep th' hype going so that funding can keep comin' in to the joint. Their kids college education depends on it!

Fusion is, indeed, the energy of the future.

Richard Hull

[Doug Coulter]

Yeah, it's job security. Those in the know realise that NIF is a nuclear weapons stewardship program someone sometimes spins as a fusion project. That's not what it's for now, and it never was. It's a bomb simulator so we can do "tests" without violating the test ban treaty.

Saying something is going to happen in 6-18 months - a 3::1 range, is saying "we don't have a clue".

[Chris Bradley]

More NIF fluff;

http://www.nature.com/news/laser-fusion ... ne-1.10175

..even Nature has been roped in to do some dead horse flogging!!

I'm struggling to identify any new, salient facts from the article. Unusually vacuous, for Nature's editorial.

[Richard Hull]

Putt-putt boat fusion, as I term it, is a joke as currently presented by NIF. The facility is a 5 Billion dollar investment and was not made to harvest any energy even if ignition occurs. This seems doubtful due to instabilities within the plasma sapping the Herculean laser energy at just that crucial moment. Sound familiar? So close.....

It was suggested by some luminary within the article that we look at other methods of ICF? What other methods? Hmmm.... Sounds like more money to me.

Even at 5 billion, they can't putt-putt fast enough due to the design of NIF. What would a full station doing this putt-putt, to transmission tower, to wall outlet cost, assuming all goes swimmingly? If this thing does ignite and fuse in one of the "putts", I hope the data is published on the total energy needed to make it happen versus the total energy that is actually created. My guess is that ignition alone will be the big news and we will be told not to worry our pretty heads about the details and other minutia.

Thanks for posting this (update??), Chris.

I still posit that no living entity reading this now will ever live to see one watt of classical fusion energy ooze out of a home wall outlet.

Richard Hull

[Chris Bradley]

http://www.nature.com/news/laser-lab-sh ... ds-1.11745


This bit is perplexing - did folks ever seriously believe the sales pitch that it was about successfully demonstrating principles of a fusion power plant?!

"After an unsuccessful campaign to demonstrate the principles of a futuristic fusion power plant, the world’s most powerful laser facility is set to change course and emphasize its nuclear weapons research."

'change course'? .. hmmm ...

[RobertTubbs]

Somewhere out there is a person actually shocked by this.

RT

[Richard Hull]

The primary purpose for NIF that got congressional funding was "strategic stockpile stewardship". The fusion power bit was just a pot sweetener. Now that the ICF goal is over, they can really get down to doing what they do best, what the device was designed for, and quit lying about the putt-putt boat, laser based, fusion energy. This will allow them to dismiss a large portion of the hangers-on theoretical fusion energy physicists and bring in good qualified nuclear weaponeers.

Richard Hull

[Mike Beauford]

Well Richard, you called it again. A day late and a dollar short! Here's the update to the NIF not working out so well now.

http://www.nature.com/news/laser-fusion ... rn-1.12016

[Richard Hull]

My rant about this debacle goes back to the old Songs.com (1990's) and the GAO report about failures in the timetable and appropriations issues for NIF. Just another make-busy project for fusion energy folks and weaponeers. Billions in the hole and we now know how to definitely NOT attain ignition in a putt-putt boat fashion.

And........Just like cold fusion..........no useful fusion here, either.

Richard Hull

[Chris Bradley]

An article in IEEE spectrum...

http://online.qmags.com/IEEESM12818089/ ... pg24&mode2

(Don't know if this is behind a paywall, but I shrunk the URL and this seems to work generically.)

[Richard Hull]

Thanks for the IEEE piece. A rather well done general article.

I note old Bob Hirsch effectively poop-pooped its contribution to fusion and stated it looks like it won't even add to fusion knowledge and that the stewardship issue is pretty much "janitorial work".

Even the weaponeers are questioning its value for their work and tend to note that it can just verify what is pretty much already worked out and don't see it contributing mightily to better weaponry.

NIF just came to the party too late, overbudget and without a firm mission in the end. A great terawatt toy, for the most part.

As it dragged into completion, the weaponeers, it turns out, found work-arounds and its fusion goal fell short, which is not all that important as all the fusion goals fall short. No news there.

Oh well.............

Richard Hull

[ARDYN VAN FOSAAEN]

Theyv'e beat this horse since at least the 70's starting with SHIVA.

[ARDYN VAN FOSAAEN]

Theyv'e beat this horse since at least the 70's starting with SHIVA. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiva_laser