Inertial fusion science and technology for the 21 century

This paper reviews the leading edge of the basic and applied science that use high-intensity facilities. The more than 15 000 experiments on the Nova laser since 1985 and many thousands more on other laser, particle beam, and pulsed power facilities around the world have established the new laboratory field of high-energy-density plasma physics and have furthered development of inertial fusion. High-brightness femtosecond lasers have enabled the study of matter in conditions previously unachievable on earth. These experiments and advanced calculations have established the specifications for the National Ignition Facility (NIF) and Laser MegaJoule (LMJ) and have enhanced scientific fields such as laboratory astrophysics. Science and technology developed in inertial fusion have found near-term commercial use, have enabled steady progress toward the goal of fusion ignition and gain in the laboratory, and have opened up new fields of study for the 21 st century.