The NIF Was Actually Close To Ignition In 2021
It might be weird to believe now, but the NIF did not get a lot of press for what they did a year ago. Back in August 2021, they were incredibly close to reaching “ignition.” They formed a high-powered laser device that achieved a record reaction (at the time) that actually crossed the critical threshold on the path to ignition. Of course, as we know by now, they were unsuccessful ultimately. The team tried to replicate this experiment but kept falling short every time. After months of trying, the scientists decided to throw out any attempt at recreating the initial experiment. Instead, they’d start over entirely. Due to what this led to, that decision quite literally could not have been a better idea by the team.