Unleashing Fusion: Insights from the National Ignition Facility

How are nuclear weapons maintained and modernised in the 21st century? America stopped explosively testing its warheads and bombs in 1992. Now the country relies on sophisticated computer simulations and energetic lasers to understand how these devices work and to keep them safe as they age. For the first time ever, America’s nuclear scientists are also having to design a brand new warhead using simulations alone.

This four-part series traces the scientific story of nuclear weapons. We go behind the scenes at America's nuclear-weapons laboratories to find out how the country is pushing the frontiers of extreme physics, materials science and computing to modernise its stockpile.

In episode three, we explore the vast scientific infrastructure in place to maintain, upgrade and build a new generation of bombs, all without setting off any devices.

Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Mark Herrmann, Brad Wallin, Rob Neely and Kim Budil of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; and Laura McGill of Sandia National Laboratories. 

Transcripts of our podcasts are available via economist.com/podcasts.

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