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DTRA’s advancements in nuclear and radiological detection
A new, more complex nuclear age has begun. Echoing the tensions of the Cold War amid rapidly evolving nuclear and radiological threats, preparedness in the modern age is a contest of scientific innovation. The Research and Development Directorate (RD) at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) is charged with winning this contest.
John M. Scott, Per F. Peterson
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 34 | Number 3 | November 1998 | Pages 772-776
National Ignition Facility-Target Area | doi.org/10.13182/FST98-A11963707
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
The National Ignition Facility (NIF) will support multiple user groups who will use NIF's unique capability to generate intense pulses of x-ray, neutron and gamma radiation from non-ignition and ignition targets. Contamination of the final-optics debris shields by target, near-target, and remobilized first-wall debris will determine the types of experiments that can be fielded. Some of these experimental packages will require target-facing surfaces that nearly enclose the target. Due to the short stand-off distances of these surfaces, x-ray ablation inside these confined spaces will generate conditions in NIF quite similar to those envisioned for future Inertial Fusion Energy (IFE) target chambers like HYLIFE. The design of these NIF experiments provides an excellent opportunity to apply the analytical target-chamber design tools the IFE research community has created, and in a synergistic way, these experiments will in turn provide a rich source of experimental data for IFE target-chamber research.