In this overview / tutorial we present the basics of the Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF). We motivate, via simple models, how an ICF target can produce more energy than the laser energy that drives it, and in so doing release an unprecedented fluence / flux of neutrons of probable use in Nuclear Chemistry research. We concentrate on �Indirect Drive� in which a sphere that contains the DT fuel sits in the center of a small gold can. The laser heats the gold creating a 300 million degree � x-ray oven�, and those x-rays drive the sphere. The �exhaust gas� from the heated surface of the sphere drives the rest of the sphere inward in a rocket-like reaction. Upon implosion, we consider the ultra high energy density state of the DT fuel, assembled into a configuration consisting of a central igniting hot spot surrounded by a shell of ultra-dense cold fuel. This ignited assembly can undergo further fusion via a thermonuclear burn wave propagating outward from the central hot spot and into the main dense fuel. We quantify the yield from such a process. We present experimental results summarizing our progress towards that goal at the National Ignition Facility. This work performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344. LLNL-PRES-415484-RevA

How ICF targets implode to the conditions exceeding those of the center of sun, in order to achieve fusion ignition: A mini tutorial

248th National Meeting (2014)

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