Laser megajoule

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Large monocrystal of potassium dihydrogen phosphate for frequency conversion at the LMJ, made from a solution by Saint-Gobain

The Laser Mégajoule ( LMJ ) is a research facility for nuclear fusion. The concept of inertial fusion is used here. The facility is located near Bordeaux in France and is operated by the French CEA . The Mégajoule laser will have 22 beamlines , each of which will deliver eight individual beams. The flash of a total of 176 individual beams with a total energy of around 1.8 MJ hits a target , which is thereby strongly compressed and heated. LMJ is very similar to the US National Ignition Facility (NIF) and is the largest experimental facility for inertial fusion outside the US.

The primary purpose of the LMJ is nuclear weapons research, more precisely: the verification of simulation calculations, which are supposed to guarantee the functionality of the French nuclear arsenal. Only later and with lower priority are civil experiments for possible energy generation planned.

The first of the 22 beamlines went into operation at the end of 2014. Two more are to be added every year, so that full performance is available around 2025.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Physik Journal 14 (2015) No. 3, page 10
  2. ↑ Le Laser Mégajoule . CEA - Direction des Applications Militaires. Retrieved June 12, 2012.

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