Achievement of Target Gain Larger than Unity in an Inertial Fusion Experiment.

On December 5, 2022, an indirect drive fusion implosion on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) achieved a target gain G_{target} of 1.5. This is the first laboratory demonstration of exceeding "scientific breakeven" (or G_{target}>1) where 2.05 MJ of 351 nm laser light produced 3.1 MJ of total fusion yield, a result which significantly exceeds the Lawson criterion for fusion ignition as reported in a previous NIF implosion [H. Abu-Shawareb et al. (Indirect Drive ICF Collaboration), Phys. Rev. Lett. 129, 075001 (2022)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.129.075001]. This achievement is the culmination of more than five decades of research and gives proof that laboratory fusion, based on fundamental physics principles, is possible. This Letter reports on the target, laser, design, and experimental advancements that led to this result.

Lawson Criterion for Ignition Exceeded in an Inertial Fusion Experiment.

For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion.

Precision shock tuning on the national ignition facility.

Ignition implosions on the National Ignition Facility [J. D. Lindl et al., Phys. Plasmas 11, 339 (2004)] are underway with the goal of compressing deuterium-tritium fuel to a sufficiently high areal density (ρR) to sustain a self-propagating burn wave required for fusion power gain greater than unity. These implosions are driven with a very carefully tailored sequence of four shock waves that must be timed to very high precision to keep the fuel entropy and adiabat low and ρR high. The first series of precision tuning experiments on the National Ignition Facility, which use optical diagnostics to directly measure the strength and timing of all four shocks inside a hohlraum-driven, cryogenic liquid-deuterium-filled capsule interior have now been performed. The results of these experiments are presented demonstrating a significant decrease in adiabat over previously untuned implosions. The impact of the improved shock timing is confirmed in related deuterium-tritium layered capsule implosions, which show the highest fuel compression (ρR~1.0 g/cm(2)) measured to date, exceeding the previous record [V. Goncharov et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 104, 165001 (2010)] by more than a factor of 3. The experiments also clearly reveal an issue with the 4th shock velocity, which is observed to be 20% slower than predictions from numerical simulation.

Demonstration of ignition radiation temperatures in indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion hohlraums.

We demonstrate the hohlraum radiation temperature and symmetry required for ignition-scale inertial confinement fusion capsule implosions. Cryogenic gas-filled hohlraums with 2.2 mm-diameter capsules are heated with unprecedented laser energies of 1.2 MJ delivered by 192 ultraviolet laser beams on the National Ignition Facility. Laser backscatter measurements show that these hohlraums absorb 87% to 91% of the incident laser power resulting in peak radiation temperatures of T(RAD)=300 eV and a symmetric implosion to a 100 µm diameter hot core.

Network is a verb. The experience of the network of community-oriented educational institutions for health sciences.

The process of networking has great potential for facilitating and accelerating global health development. This article presents some of the experiences of the Network of Community-Oriented Educational Institutions for Health Sciences. Three components are identified, each of which is illustrated by a specific Network activity: (1) tasks and projects, (2) information and communications technology, (3) people and institutions--the human factor. Some important lessons have been learned. Because people are the key to successful networking, there is a need to strengthen the research about how networks function. Encouraging progress is being made toward more effective global collaboration.

Radioimmunotherapy of the GW-39 human colonic tumor xenograft with 131I-labeled murine monoclonal antibody to carcinoembryonic antigen.

We have investigated the therapeutic efficacy of a single injection of 131I-labeled murine mouse monoclonal antibody (NP-4) against carcinoembryonic antigen using the human colonic tumor xenograft, GW-39, grown in the cheek pouches of adult hamsters. Therapeutic efficacy was dependent on the dose of radioactivity, the specificity of the antibody for the tumor, and the size of the tumor when the radioantibody was administered. A dose of 1 mCi of 131I-labeled NP-4 given 1 day after tumor transplantation completely inhibited the growth of 6 of 11 tumors over a 12-week period, and histological evidence indicated that viable tumor was absent in the tissue remaining at the injection site. Lower doses (0.5 mCi) of 131I-labeled NP-4 inhibited tumor growth over 90% in comparison to untreated animals, but the tumors eventually resumed growth. Delaying the administration of radioantibody for 4 or 7 days after tumor transplantation significantly reduced the therapeutic efficacy. Although the same dose of 131I-labeled irrelevant immunoglobulin G also inhibited tumor growth, 131I-labeled NP-4 was generally 2-3 times more effective in reducing tumor growth than was the control IgG. There was a 13% loss in body weight within 7 days after treatment with 1 mCi, but all the animals regained their weight by day 14, indicating that the level of radioactivity was tolerated well. Dosimetric calculations predicted that over 14 days a dose of nearly 2400 rads was delivered to the tumors with 131I-labeled NP-4. These results confirm our previous studies that 131I-labeled antibody can effectively inhibit tumor growth, but suggest that radioantibody therapy is most effectively administered when there is a low tumor burden.

Limitations in testing for attitudes toward cancer.

A Cancer Attitude And Knowledge Questionnaire was administered to two groups of incoming first year medical students and to one of these groups at the end of their second year. The same questionnaire, except for the questions dealing with cognitive knowledge, was also used to assess the attitudes of practicing oncologists. There was a wide variation in the responses to the attitudinal items in all groups. In view of many inconsistencies in the results, a rigorous analysis of the instrument was carried out. The subscales derived from the Cancer Attitude Survey were found to lack adequate reliability. The only part of the attitudinal test found to be reliable and discriminatory was the semantic differential developed by the authors. It is, therefore, concluded that the currently used techniques are inadequate, and there is a need for a new multidimensional approach to the assessment of attitudes toward cancer.

Allaying loneliness in freshman medical students: an outcome of an elective course.

An empirical study of the effects of a psychiatry elective on first-year medical students' reported satisfaction with school and their reported level of loneliness is described in this article. Surveys before and after the class provided evidence that satisfaction with school decreased significantly among freshmen not taking the course. In contrast, male course participants' levels of satisfaction with school and with faculty-student relationships did not drop significantly, nor did female participants' levels of satisfaction with faculty-student relationships. Nonparticipants reported a significant increase in loneliness during the study period. In contrast, no such increase was reported by either men or women course participants.