LMJ

LMJ

Laser Mégajoule (LMJ) is a large laser-based inertial confinement fusion (ICF) research device near Bordeaux, France, built by the French nuclear science directorate, Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique (CEA). Laser Mégajoule plans to deliver over 1 MJ of laser energy to its targets, compressing them to about 100 times the density of lead. It is about half as energetic as its US counterpart, the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Laser Mégajoule is the largest ICF experiment outside the US. Laser Mégajoule's primary task will be refining fusion calculations for France's own nuclear weapons. A portion of the system's time is set aside for materials science experiments.Construction of the LMJ took 15 years and cost 3 billion euros. It was declared operational on 23 October 2014, when it ran its first set of nuclear-weapon-related experiments.

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