News

  • 2023.04.26

    NATURE: This pioneering nuclear-fusion lab is gearing up to break more records. NIF is planning, direct drive, diamond coating of the pellet and well exceeding 45 MJ output.

  • 2023.04.13

    The most powerful laser system in the world, designed, developed, installed and operated by Thales for its customer the Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering - IFIN-HH at Extreme Light Infrastructure - Nuclear Physics Center (ELI-NP) in Magurele, Romania, has focused for the first time in the world 10 petawatt laser pulses on solid targets. 240 J of laser energy have been fired in a short pulse of 24 fs duration onto a thin metal foil of aluminum with the aim of generating particles and X-rays of high energy and brightness. This great achievement marks an important milestone in laser plasma physics and opens up great opportunities in many research directions both in fundamental physics and in societal applications. Our warmest congratulations to all teams involved at ELI-NP and Thales in France and Romania. Find out more about this technological success story

  • 2023.03.22

    The Economist, March 22, 2023:
    Fusion power is coming back into fashion (This time it might even work)

  • 2023.03.19

    Sabine Hossenfelder (FIAS, Frankfurt), reports of about a dozen new "Nuclear Fusion Startups", their ideas, plans and funding; Nuclear Fusion Energy: Who'll Be First To Make It Work? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23W0t5-LlV0 . The NAPLIFE project is (still) not among them.

  • 2023.02.23

    The Minister of Culture and Innovation, János Csák, invited László Csernai to a meeting in connection with his interview in the weekly Magyar Demokrata published last September. Deputy State Secretary László Bódis also attended the meeting. Among the energy-related topics, the progress of the NAPLIFE project and the planned experiments at the ELI-ALPS in Szeged were discussed.

  • 2023.02.21

    First measurements of p-11B fusion in a magnetically confined plasma.
    Nature Communications | (2023)1 4:955
    https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36655-1

  • 2023.02.16

    Miklós Bendzsel, chief adviser to the Minister of Culture and Innovation, and Tamás Biró, László Csernai and Norbert Kroó had a discussion at the National Research, Development and Innovation Office about the progress of the NAPLIFE project and the planned experiments at the ELI-ALPS in Szeged.

  • 2022.12.14

    National Ignition Facility achieves fusion ignition
    The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) today (Dec. 13) announced the achievement of fusion ignition at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) — a major scientific breakthrough decades in the making that will pave the way for advancements in national defense and the future of clean power.

  • 2022.12.01

    Tamás Sándor Biró, Doctor of Physical Sciences, Wigner FK RMI, Professional leader of the Nanoplasmonic Laser Fusion Research Laboratory:
    YouTube Channel, MTA 1825: "How close will nanoplasmics bring us to fusion energy?" in Hungarian.
    After an easy overview of the physical and technical properties of energy and its possible sources; we will discuss a possible alternative to the future: the release of fusion energy. In addition to the two most well-known and large-scale research directions (ITER and NIF), the lecturer reports on the initial results of the Nanoplasmonic Laser Fusion Research Laboratory in the field of plasmonic amplification of laser pulse absorption.

  • 2022.11.18

    Focused energy and GSI/FAIR have signed a Collaboration Agreement..

  • 2022.08.26

    Johann Rafelski gave the 1st Colloquium talk of the Fall Semestre: Searching for Viable Path to Nuclear Fusion Energy, at the Department of Physics, The University of Arizona, Fridat, August 26th, 2022. At 45th min. of the talk the NAPLIFE activity is presented. The video of the talk from Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, and the slides of the talk.

  • 2022.05.13

    Radio broadcast: "A nap energiatermelését nanotechnikával kombinálva végeznek eredményes kutatásokat magyar tudósok." - (The energy production of the Sun combined with nanotechnology is researched bz Hugarian scientists). The host is: Norbert Kroo phzsicist, and his guest is Tamás Sándor Bíró, professor of Wigner RCP. [ Kossuth Rádió – May 13., 19:08 ],

  • 2021.11.12

    Megajoule Fusion Yields on the National Ignition Facility (*ONLINE) by Alex Zylstra (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory) Tuesday 2 Nov 2021, 16:15, 17:15 Europe/Berlin - - - Zoom [20211102].

  • 2021.11.09.

    Wigner RCP submitted to the Hungarian National Patent Office (Szellemi Tulajdon Nemzeti Hivatala) the Patent on "Procedure to produce isotopes with high energy plasmonic laser pulses" (Eljárás izotópok előállítására plazmonikus erősítéssel segített nagyenergiás lézerimpulzusokkal). Inventors: Aladi, Márk; Biró, Tamás Sándor; Dr. Csernai, László Pál; Dr. Kedves, Miklós Ákos; Dr. Kroó, Norbert; Rácz, Péter; Rigó, István; Dr. Veres, Miklós. Priority date: Nov. 9, 2021. Receiving number: 311174000-20211109-1711-022074. [Patent-Submission].

  • 2021.08.30

    At the 10th Int. Conf. on New Frontiers in Physics 2021, in Kolymbari, Crete, Greece, between 23 August - 3 September 2021, in the Workshop on Laser Fusion eight talks were presented. Five for the NAPLIFE Collaboration [20210830a], [20210830b], [20210830c], [20210830d], [20210830e], and three from other institutions [20210830f], [20210830g], [20210830h] indicated by (*). The conference had 254 registered participants in hybrid setup.

  • 2021.05.31

    Brief introduction of the NAPLIFE activity and the Nanoplazmonikus Lézeres Fúzió Kutatólaboratórium for the NKFIH TéT delegates [2100531].

  • 2021.05.27

    The introduction day of the NAPLIFE project to the National Laboratory program. (In Hungarian)
    INVITATION and three introductory talks [2100527a], [2100527b], [2100527c].

  • 2021.05.06

    Our new colleague, Archana Kumari has defended her PhD degree in Hyderabad. The video of the defense can be seen
    HERE

  • 2021.04.01

    The National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH) notified us that the Minister responsible for innovation and technology approved the support for the Nanoplasmonic Laser Fusion Research Laboratory amounting to HUF 356,083,102 (~ € 986,000) for the financial year beginning on 1 July 2021.

  • 2021.02.25.

    Nineteen applications were received for the post-doc positions announced on January 21, 2021. The jury made the decision, two offers were made, which were accepted by both applicants. Judit Kámán will join the spectroscopy working group from April 1, 2021, and Archana Kumari will join the laser group from May 1, 2021.

  • 2021.02.24.

    In the online Lasers, Plasmas and Accelerators seminar series [QUB seminar] Tammy Ma, Associate Program Leader, gave a talk on “Future perspective on High-Intensity Laser HED Science at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory”. The talk can be viewed at
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MVrziDYTI8g&feature=youtu.be
    Some slides of the talk are downloaded and may be seen here.
         The talk is interesting as it is significantly different from the earlier NIF concepts and show several similarities to the NAPLIFE project. No hohlraum is discussed, flat target is introduced (s9), and instead the 192 spherically arranged lasers only 4+4 lasers are used in linear colliding beam configuration. The initial irradiation used a ‘super-ponderomitiv’ acceleration and compression (s11), in a shorter picosecond time range instead of the earlier longer nanosecond range. Different layered targets are used (s14). New types of lasers (s19) are planned to use, similar to the ELI lasers. These new aspects are similar to our planned project. Interestingly some of our colleagues criticized these earlier.
         Another important feature of this Advanced Radiographic Capability (ARC) Laser or NIF-ARC project is the large-scale openness and collaboration with other laboratories. Especially interesting that the US Department of Energy and the Czech Academy of Sciences signed a collaboration agreement (s44). Tammy Ma also expressed that they are open for similar collaboration.
         Our two innovative features, the simultaneous and extremely short ignition time and the implantation of nano-antennas are not introduced (yet).

  • 2021.02.18.

    Photos from the Nanoplasmonic Laser Fusion Research Laboratory: The Nanoplasmonic Laser Fusion Research Laboratory was launched under the professional leadership of the Wigner Physics Research Center in 2020 as part of the National Laboratories Program. We can now get a glimpse of the newly completed laboratory through the photos of Márton Kovács. Submitted by biro.tamas@wigner.hu

  • 2021.02.17.

    Prof. Norbert Kroó and Prof. Tamás Bíró met with the engineers of the Paks II nuclear reactor under construction, at the Paks II. State Secretariat. It was discussed that a group of 2-3 engineers, János Hauszmann and colleagues, are expected to join the NAPLIFE project. They offered to take a look at the labs. The planned date of the visit is March 31, 2021.

  • 2021.02.15.

    The National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH) held a presentation on the possibilities of bilateral and multilateral relations for National Laboratories. After the introduction of Dr. István Szabó, Vice President, Szonja Csuzdi, Department Officer, gave a presentation on bilateral, Bilateral Science and Technology (TÉT) relations and the EU Horizon Europe program. In our case, Norway, Germany, and Italy within the EU may be interesting, while outside the EU, China, Russia, and the US may be considered. NKFIH has a TÉT agreement with the latter. The deadline for applications from the Chinese party is 26 February. It was discussed during the discussion that the fact that the National Laboratories do not have legal personality causes problems. For better and unobtrusive visibility, a unified WWW look can be beneficial. To this end, the Research Institute of Computer Science and Automation (SZTAKI) has created domains: xxx.nemzetilabor.hu , where xxx is the abbreviation of the given National Lab.

  • 2021.01.28.

    At the Quantum Electronics Symposium 2021 in Szeged, Norbert Kroó [210128a] László P. Csernai [210128b] and Tamás S. Biró [210128c] gave presentations on the NAPLIFE project. The presentations were followed by an intense discussion: [210128en].

  • 2021.01.21.

    An advertisement for postdoc vacancies has been published on the fizinfo mailing list, on the WFK website and at https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/597194 . The application deadline is February 15, 2021. If there are no suitable applicants by the application deadline, the ad will be re-posted on the websites listed above.

  • 2021.01.19.

    Today in the Hungarian Klubrádió we could listen to Gábor Neuman's reportage with Norbert Kroó on the NAPLIFE projekt.

  • 2020.11.01.

    István Papp defended his Ph.D. degree at Babes-Bolyai University in Cluj-Napoca, and on November 1st began working as a postdoctoral fellow in the Wigner RCP. He works in the NAPLIFE project on theoretical modeling of fusion.

  • 2020.10.29.

    L.P. Csernai and N. Kroo presented the Nanoplasmonic Laser Fusion Program at the 27th International Energy and Innovation Forum organized by SUNWO Ltd.. The slides of the preseentations are available in the TALKS section: [201029g] and [201029f] .[IP]

  • 2020.10.16.

    A brief introduction of the Nanoplasmonic Laser Fusion Laboratory was presented by T.S. Bíró to the Physics Klass of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (MTA).[IP]

  • 2020.09.11.

    At the "Int. Conf. on New Frontiers for Physics (ICNFP)", Dieter. D. Hoffmann held an invited talk, which is relevant for NAPLIFE Collaboration in many aspects. The talks can be seen in the Web pages of the conference, D.D.Hoffmann, or directly in the Webpages of NAPLIFE: Talk. At the Conference Attila Bonyár and László Csernai is have also gave talks, these can be reached at: NAPLIFE Talks in our Webpages.

  • 2020.09.23.

    The NAnoPlasmonic Laser Inertial confinement Fusion Experiments (NAPLIFE) project was officially accepted and granted as part of the 2020 National Laboratory program (confirmed by Katalin Sebokők's letter and by Prof. Dr. Palkovics László's presentation).[IP]

  • 2019.12.10.

    For the call "Establishment of National Laboratories 2020" by the Eotvös Loránd Research Network (ELKH) the Hungarian member organizations submitted an application entitled "Nanoplasmonic Laser Fusion". The Wigner Research Center for Physics (WRCP/WFK) was chosen as the coordinating institution of the proposal. In addition of WRCP the Universities of BME Budapert, Szeged and Debrecen, as well as the ELI-ALPS laboratory at Szeged participated.[LPC]

  • 2019.11.29.

    The targets manufactured at the Center for Energy Research, were tested at the Hydra Ti-Si laser of WRCP, by Péter Rácz and colleagues. The melting phase transition in COC was visible on the samples as a non-transparent, white spot, where the target melted. The appearance of these spots and their size depended on the energy of the laser beam irradiation. It was observed that the nano antennas resulted in an increased light absorptivity by a factor of 3-4, as it was predicted. [LPC]

  • 2019.10.06.

    The ideas presented in the publication "Radiation dominated implosion with flat target" by L.P. Csernai et al., first appeared in 2019 March (see arXiv:1903.10896, later on published in Physics of Wave Phenomena, 28 (3), 187-199 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1541308X20030048 ), based on the Patent of Csernai, Kroo and Papp (2017) included proposal of verification experiments for the two basic ideas of the patent. These were (i) the regulation or increase the absorptivity of the laser target by implanting nano-antennas into the target as first. Then (ii) regulating the absorptivity by a layered target with different absorptivity in the layers to achieve simultaneous ("time-like") ignition or phase transition in the whole flat target. This eliminates the occurrence of instabilities.

    For the first step (i), an implanted target from Cyclic Olefin Copolymer (COC) was implanted with nanorod antennas by Andras Deák, Béla Pecz and colleagues at the Center for Energy Research. The idea was discussed during the Summer and Fall with Deák, Pecz, Kroo and Csernai. Instead of ignition we aimed to detect the melting phases transition of COC. Then the implanted target was manufactured, based on the theoretical predictions. These targets were aimed for testing later at the Wigner Research Center for Physics (WRCP).[LPC]

  • 2019.05.20.

    The Hungarian Patent Office (a Szellemi Tulajdon Nemzeti Hivatala) announced that the patent "Procedure for the ignition of laser fusion" ("Eljárás léyer fúzió begyújtására") under number P1700278 by Norbert Kroó, László Csernai and István Papp submitted on June 23, 2017, is registered on the registration day of June 28, 2019. [Patent-Registration].