Sandia National Laboratories Proposes 10x Larger Z Machine for Nuclear Weapons Research
Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is publicly discussing plans to build a successor to its Z machine, which would be approximately 10 times larger than the current facility. The Z machine is described as the most powerful pulsed-power machine and X-ray source on Earth, firing around 200 times a year. Each firing generates 26 million amps of electricity in about 100 nanoseconds, creating an X-ray flash peaking at 350 terawatts. This process is so intense that it causes a 'mini little earthquake' around the facility, detectable in the nearby Sandia Mountains. The current Z machine uses 2,160 capacitors to store and release 20 megajoules of electrical energy, which is then focused onto a target no bigger than a spool of thread, vaporizing tungsten wires into plasma. The lab is currently pitching this concept to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
