NIF reaches 8.6 MJ yield and a target gain of 4.13

node

NIF's lasers delivered 2.08 MJ to the target in a 456-terawatt peak-power pulse and produced approximately 8.6 MJ of fusion yield, a target gain of about 4.13 — more than doubling the previous 3.88 MJ record set in July 2023. The improvement was attributed to a custom high-density carbon (diamond) capsule. Target gain rose by roughly a factor of three between December 2022 and April 2025; wall-plug gain did not change, because nothing about the laser's efficiency changed.

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Fusion EnergyFuture

Evidence · 1

Target Breakthrough Enabled Fusion Record at NIF

Timeline

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Connections · 4

National Ignition Facilityconcerns
Inertial confinement fusionconcerns
Fusion energy gain (Q) and target gainconcerns
Breakevenconcerns

Assembled narrative · 1

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Observed changes · 0

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/atlas?object=EVENT_NIF_RECORD_YIELD_2025_04_07