June 2009

Video: Electromagnetic pulses in laser target chamber

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will initiate hydrogen fusion with 192 lasers aimed to implode a BB-sized capsule of hydrogen fuel. About a trillion electrons will be launched from the target. Charged particles moving through space induce an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) that could damage NIF monitoring equipment without sufficient shielding. This shows electromagnetic field results for a 3D simulation of electrons leaving a smaller high-power facility, LLNL’s Titan laser.LLNL: D. Eder, M. Stowell, D. White and C. Brown