The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has presented Fiberguide Industries with a plaque to recognise its participation in the National Ignition Facility (NIF).
The National Ignition Facility, or NIF, is a laser-based inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research device under construction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in Livermore, California, United States. NIF uses powerful lasers to heat and compress a small amount of hydrogen fuel to the point where nuclear fusion reactions take place. NIF is the largest and most energetic ICF device built to date, and the first that is expected to reach the long-sought goal of 'ignition', when the fusion reactions become self-sustaining.
Construction started in 1997 with 96 of the lasers (out of a planned 192) completed and commissioned by August 2007, with a further 48 (for a total of 144) nearing completion. As of 2007, construction of the NIF is estimated to be completed in 2009 with the first fusion ignition tests planned for 2010 with a price of more than $4bn.
