Talk:Hohlraum

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I've changed this (I'm editing the contents of the German loanwords category). This word isn't in any English language dictionary, so it isn't a loanword; but I don't know that it's a German term either. Is the gadget that "the fusion capsule is held inside" called a Hohlraum in German? Or is it a word appropriated for this meaning by those who work in this area (a neologism, in that case)? Any ideas? Moonraker12 (talk) 17:59, 24 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

As far as I know, (1) Hohlraum is a legitimate German word that might be used in any context, (2) it is also used in German in the context of laser fusion, and (3) it is standard technical jargon in English. --Art Carlson (talk) 20:27, 24 June 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Ah! Thanks... In light of your point (2) I'll move it to the "Glossary of German terms" category. Moonraker12 (talk) 01:34, 1 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Although the word is not yet officially a loanword (i.e. not in the current English dictionary editions), it probably will be soon, considering the current very active research into inertial confinement fusion (ICF). Googling "hohlraum" shows that it is most often not capitalized in the English technical literature about ICF, suggesting that it is taking the same route as other German nouns such as sauerkraut, kindergarten, and angst once did. Is it OK for Wikipedia to take a somewhat pioneering role in this process? Piperh (talk) 17:11, 29 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

"Hohlraum" in German denotes any mathematical, physical, or natural form of "hollow space" or "cavity", so it can be used for any kind of cavity, including the one called "hohlraum" in English... -- megA (talk) 18:29, 29 January 2010 (UTC)[reply]

The description states that "This idealized cavity can be approximated in practice by making a small perforation in the wall of a hollow container of any opaque material.", though both the photo in the article, and my quick research, shows a small, hollow cylinder.

Zephalis (talk) 03:09, 7 January 2016 (UTC)[reply]

I found the original source for that quote (which many other hohlraum related pages use verbatim) and linked it. The problem is, I believe it is referring to an original application of a hohlraum - a blackbody emitter - rather than a hohlraum itself. The hohlraum is just the cavity and walls. Hence the cylindircal and, most recently, exotic 3-axis hohlraums used in fusion research.

regarding your to-dos , I have tried to address #1 by rephrasing, so that the small perforation is referring to use as black body emitter. As for #2, I think the page on black-body radiation might describe it already? But maybe the sections here on ICF (and a future section on HEDP) could go into detail about how it works in those contexts. #3 may be resolved by addressing #2 (material is selected for high energy applications for specific properties it has?). Sema4.v (talk) 06:09, 29 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]