laser fusion

Laser fusion, also known as inertial confinement fusion (ICF), is a method to achieve nuclear fusion by rapidly compressing a fuel pellet to extremely high densities and temperatures. This compression is typically accomplished using powerful lasers or particle beams that focus on a tiny fuel pellet, causing it to implode. The immense pressure, reaching up to 10¹⁷ pascals, heats the fuel to temperatures exceeding 4,400 eV, initiating fusion reactions.123

The goal is to release more energy from the fusion reactions than is used to compress and heat the fuel. This process is analogous to events in stars and thermonuclear weapons, involving collapse, compression heating, and the onset of fusion. Facilities like the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California use 192 lasers to deliver immense energy to a small pellet, aiming to create a self-sustaining fusion reaction. While significant progress has been made, ICF research is also applied to weapons research, alongside efforts to develop fusion as a large-scale energy source.1245