DOE funded NNSA to use plasma to simulate nuclear explosions

The Department of Energy gave $5.65 million to the National Nuclear Security Administration for 11 research projects in using plasmas to simulate nuclear explosions, a press release said.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) would collaborate with the DOE Office of Science to study plasmas created in a lab to create the conditions found in nuclear explosions in lieu of testing nuclear weapons, the DOE press release said this month.

“We are excited to be supporting cutting edge research that plays a critical role in developing the next generation of elite scientists in the area of high energy density science,” Jahleel Hudson, director of the technology and partnerships office for NNSA’s Defense Programs, said in the release. “This work advances our understanding of these extreme environments and has benefits that range from fundamental science to specific technological applications.”

The funding for the 11 projects will last three years, with $3.75 million in fiscal year 2024 and $1.9 million in “outyear funding contingent on congressional appropriations,” the agency said.

Since the U.S. halted full-yield, nuclear-explosive testing in 1992, the Department of Energy has relied on what it calls the stockpile stewardship program to verify that U.S. nuclear weapons retain their designed destructive power as they age and are refurbished.