On Dec. 5, 2022, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) launched “The Age of Ignition” with an experiment at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) that for the first time produced more energy from a fusion reaction than the energy needed to spark the reaction, a condition known as ignition. This series of articles, now available in an expanded edition that you can download below, made scientific history and what it means for science, national security, and the promise of clean, safe, and abundant energy.

The Age of Ignition: Anniversary Edition

Inside LLNL’s Fusion Breakthrough

Photo inside the Control Room

Part 1
Star Power: Blazing the Path to Fusion Ignition

Development Team photo

Part 2
Designing for Ignition: Precise Changes Yield Historic Results

WCI team member making adjustment to the Cryo XNBS

Part 3
Ignition Experiment Advances Stockpile Stewardship Mission

staff installing hardware in MOR room

Part 4
Laser Focused: Power and Finesse Drove Fusion Ignition Success

Alex Maroudas removes a clean fused silica debris shield from the optics washer in the Optics Processing Facility

Part 5
Optics Meet the Demands of Increased Laser Energy

A high-resolution 3D HYDRA capsule simulation

Part 6
Computing Codes, Simulations Helped Make Ignition Possible

Dante Diagnotic

Part 7
Diagnostics Were Crucial to LLNL’s Historic Ignition Shot

Technician assembles a target at the cryogenic target assembly station

Part 8
Target Evolution Is a Key to NIF’s Continued Success

10-meter-diameter Target Chamber, shown being lowered into place in 1999

Part 9
NIF Sustainment: Ensuring the Next 20 Years of Progress

graphic showing integrated supercomputer and NIF technologies

Part 10
High Performance Computing, AI, and Cognitive Simulation Helped LLNL Conquer Fusion Ignition

graphic showing integrated supercomputer and NIF technologies

Part 11
From “60 Minutes” to “SNL,” Fusion Ignition News Thrusts LLNL into the Zeitgeist

graphic showing integrated supercomputer and NIF technologies

Part 12
Meet the People Behind the Scenes of LLNL’s Historic Ignition Shot

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