HiPER - High Power laser Energy Research (Part 1)

In the beginning, there was light. For countless ages, the light shone, and it shines across our night sky still. The light of stars. Nature's way of releasing vast energy. The light of fusion. Man reached out beyond his own planet into space, and began to understand the laws of nature. The laws of physics, which govern everything. He even began to understand the inner workings of stars. Our own star. The sun. A massive ball of hydrogen gas, collapsing under its own immense gravity, with enormous pressure at its core, and heated to millions of degrees. Our sun has burned for over four billion years, and is likely to burn for as long again into the future. Throughout this time, like all stars, the sun has radiated immense energy, in nature's chosen way, from the fusion of atoms of hydrogen. Driven together with immense force at the sun's core, they change to helium, releasing energy, which has shone out across space for billions of years. Nature's own energy source, fusion. Today, we face a huge challenge to find a new way to satisfy our ravenous demand for energy. Scientists are pursuing a solution to produce the energy we need without making even more carbon dioxide, or the enduring legacy of long-lasting radioactive waste. They seek to unlock the immense power of the atom, not by fission, which tears atoms apart, but in nature's own way, fusion. The power which drives the sun itself. For many years, scientists have been developing the technology to unlock fusion. The most advanced approach uses powerful magnetic fields. In 1997, the European jet facility in England achieved 16 megawatts of fusion power, and now the international ITER project seeks to advance that achievement towards 500 megawatts. Fusion power on the industrial scale. The magnetic approach to fusion is exciting and is making real progress, but the scale of the energy challenge demands multiple and complementary solutions. The potential of lasers to unlock the power of fusion has been a vision ever since their invention. Now, in the 21st century, the proof of principle for laser fusion is about to be achieved. With billions of dollars invested in the construction of the National Ignition Facility in California and the Laser Megajoule in Bordeaux, the largest and most powerful lasers ever built. Yet much has to be done before we can fully reap the benefits for fundamental science and for developing a fusion power source. Scientists and funding agencies across Europe have come together to face this challenge. An ambitious pan-European project is now underway to provide the evidence that a laser-driven fusion reactor could be a source of secure, abundant energy and a unique resource for fundamental science. This major step is the goal of the high-power laser energy research facility. HYPER