• Yer Ma@lemm.ee
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    2
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    11 months ago

    I thought the Z machine at Sandia produced more than it consumed? That was like 20 years ago

    • macarthur_park@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      2
      ·
      11 months ago

      Nah, the Z machine never achieved ignition. That doesn’t mean it’s not a really cool facility though!

      • Yer Ma@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        2
        ·
        11 months ago

        Hmm, I thought they were running fast ignition since like 2005?

        • macarthur_park@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          5
          arrow-down
          1
          ·
          11 months ago

          They’ve been doing studies of what would be required for ignition for a while, but have never demonstrated ignition using the Z machine.

          If they did have ignition, there’s no way they would’ve let LLNL claim to be first and enjoy all the media attention.