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NIF

NIF is the normal name given to the National Ignition Facility, a nuclear fusion research reactor proposed for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

NIF will use inertial containment to enable scientists to study nuclear fusion and other processes involving extremely dense plasmas. The concept uses multiple high-powered lasers to compress a deuterium-tritium (D+T) fuel pellet to densities of up to 1000 grams per cubic centimeter, over 6 times the density of the centre of the Sun.

This is predicted to achieve self-sustaining nuclear fusion reactions, or ignition. NIF is expected to be funded and completed by the early part of next decade.

External link

http://www.aip.org/physnews/graphics/html/nif.htm