Scientists use Argonne accelerator to explore star-like environment
In December, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory made headlines worldwide. Scientists at the NIF performed the first nuclear fusion experiment in which the energy produced from fusion exceeded the amount of energy directly applied to the fuel to ignite it. This first-of-its-kind result will provide invaluable insight into the potential for clean energy from fusion.
But the NIF’s scientific impact doesn’t end there. Using the Argonne Tandem Linac Accelerator System (ATLAS), a DOE Office of Science user facility located at DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, a team of scientists is studying the extreme, star-like environment created during laser shots at the NIF to better understand its potential as a testbed for nuclear astrophysics research. The work could also provide insight into the nature of stars and the origin of the elements. Read More...
