Rochester, NY: University of Rochester, Laboratory of Laser Energetics, 2009. Revised Edition. Wraps. vi, 62 pages. Illustrations (some in color). Inertial confinement fusion (ICF) is a type of fusion energy research that attempts to initiate nuclear fusion reactions by heating and compressing a fuel target, typically in the form of a pellet that most often contains a mixture of deuterium and tritium. To compress and heat the fuel, energy is delivered to the outer layer of the target using high-energy beams of laser light, electrons or ions. The heated outer layer explodes outward, producing a reaction force against the remainder of the target, accelerating it inwards, compressing the target. This process is designed to create shock waves that travel inward through the target. A sufficiently powerful set of shock waves can compress and heat the fuel at the center so much that fusion reactions occur. The energy released by these reactions will then heat the surrounding fuel, and if the heating is strong enough this could also begin to undergo fusion. The aim of ICF is to produce a condition known as ignition, where this heating process causes a chain reaction that burns a significant portion of the fuel. In practice, only a small proportion of this fuel will undergo fusion, but if all this fuel were consumed it would release the energy equivalent to burning a barrel of oil. ICF is one of two major branches of fusion energy research, the other being magnetic confinement fusion. The largest operational ICF experiment is the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in the US. As of October 7, 2013, this facility is understood to have achieved for the first time a fuel capsule that gave off more energy than was applied to it. More