2013
October 15, 2013
Light at the end of the tunnel for fusion energy research? Not while the government is dark
Fusion scientists believe they are on the cusp of what may be humanity's crowning achievement in energy: harnessing the reaction that powers the sun to produce gobs of clean electricity, drawing on a fuel source that covers two-thirds of the planet, granting energy security and solving climate change. (Energywire)
October 11, 2013
Fusion milestone reached, but shutdown stymies further progress
The National Ignition Facility has reportedly reached a milestone in its $3.5 billion quest for nuclear fusion power – but for now, it can't follow up on the achievement due to the federal government shutdown. (NBC News)
October 8, 2013
Fusion Makes Great Progress
Scientists and researchers at the National Ignition Facility recently passed a crucial milestone: outputting more energy than what was absorbed by the fuel. (American Security Project)
October 7, 2013
Nuclear fusion milestone passed at US lab
During an experiment in late September, the amount of energy released through the fusion reaction exceeded the amount of energy being absorbed by the fuel – the first time this had been achieved at any fusion facility in the world. (BBC News)
October 1, 2013
Moses leaves NIF's day-to-day operations to head new Livermore lab fusion effort
Ed Moses, the National Ignition Facility's principal associate director since 2007, is stepping down from his post to explore broader uses for inertial fusion energy at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. (San Jose Mercury News)
September 2013
Commentary: Let's send the DOE to Alpha Centauri
Inertial confinement fusion – and pulsed fusion more generally – is a step toward interstellar flight...so exoplanet discoveries provide an alternative focus for fusion research. (Physics Today)
September 26, 2013
Nuclear Fusion Reactors 'Possible' Report Scientists – But Not Yet
The dream of a practical, useful and cost-effective nuclear fusion reactor is not quite as fanciful as "Back To The Future" made it seem. Scientists are increasingly convinced that the revolutionary form of power is getting closer to becoming a reality. (Huffington Post UK) (Includes Video)
September 24, 2013
Nuclear Fusion In Our Time? Scientists Outline Hurdles To Potentially Transformative Energy
In a recent paper appearing in the journal Physics of Plasmas, the staff from the National Ignition Facility report on their progress toward the ignition point using high-powered laser beams. (International Business Times)
September 24, 2013
Fusion, Anyone?
The dream of igniting a self-sustained fusion reaction with high yields of energy, a feat likened to creating a miniature star on Earth, is getting closer to becoming reality, according the authors of a new review article in the journal Physics of Plasmas. (American Institute of Physics)
September 17, 2013
Lawrence Livermore Lab gets $45 million to build Czech Republic laser
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory will build a research laser for use near Prague and has been paid $45 million for the work. The laser, to be built and tested in Livermore and transported to the Czech Republic in 2016, will be used for scientific testing. (San Francisco Business Times)
September 13, 2013
Lab reports big advance in laser fusion quest
The latest experimental run at the National Ignition Facility produced as many as one quarter of the neutrons needed to trigger sustained fusion. (Physics Today)
September 5, 2013
Good news from NIF
In the early morning of August 13, 2013, the National Ignition Facility generated a record yield of nearly 3 × 1015 fusion neutrons from a cryogenic deuterium-tritium target. That's three times the previous record, and welcome good news from the giant laser. (Laser Focus World)
August 27, 2013
One Step Closer to Fusion Energy
On Aug. 13, 2013, all 192 of the ultra-powerful laser beams at NIF converged on a tiny deuterium-tritium filled capsule. In a matter of nanoseconds, the capsule imploded and released a neutron yield of nearly 3×1015, or approximately 8,000 joules of neutron energy. It was a record-setting yield, three times higher than previous efforts. (HPC Wire)
August 27, 2013
Massive laser at National Ignition Facility takes baby step toward fusion
It's one small step for energy – and one giant blast for lasers. (FoxNews.com)
July 26, 2013
Fusion Energy Quest Faces Boundaries of Budget, Science
The target chamber at the U.S. National Ignition Facility was meant to be a corridor for almost limitless power from fusion energy. But the energy pumped in by the lasers still exceeds the energy created by the fusing hydrogen. (National Geographic)
July 23, 2013
The most difficult project on earth
Harnessing nuclear fusion as a means of power generation has for decades been the Holy Grail for atomic scientists across the world, but there are several projects underway that could deliver results much sooner than anticipated. (Power Engineering International)
June, 2013
National Ignition Campaign Closure and the Path Forward for Ignition
Achieving energies on target at the NIF of over 2 megajoules (above the 1.8 megajoule design specification of the NIF) provided the ICF community the first facility with energies that are believed capable of achieving ignition conditions. (Stockpile Stewardship Quarterly)
June 25, 2013
Fusion energy dreams smash into hard economic realities
"Nobody said it was going to be easy," said Daniel Clery, the author of a new book about the fusion quest. "But just because it's hard doesn't mean it's not worth doing. The potential rewards are so great, how can we not try?" (NBC News Science)
May 17, 2013
"Star Trek" at Fusion Lab: When Fantasy Meets Real Life
If the Starship Enterprise's warp drive looks especially realistic in the new "Star Trek" film, that's because it was shot in a real-life laboratory for nuclear fusion research: The National Ignition Facility in California. (LiveScience)
May 16, 2013
Round-Table Interview: Simon Pegg and John Cho of "Star Trek: Into Darkness"
Filming at NIF "was extraordinary," says actor Simon Pegg (Chief Engineer Montgomery Scott). "All of those guys with the red shirts in the warp core. They're all just guys from NIF who just wanted to be in 'Star Trek'." (Includes Audio) (Spinningplatters.com)
May 15, 2013
Star Trek: Secrets of the Universe
An 83-minute documentary on the physics of "Star Trek" and the making of "Star Trek: Into Darkness" includes an extensive look at the filming of the Starship Enterprise warp core scenes at NIF. (Video) (History Channel-Requires sign-in)
May 15, 2013
Actor John Cho: "I think Star Trek is good for the world"
The cast and crew of "Star Trek: Into Darkness," the newest iteration of the blockbuster franchise, was filming at the National Ignition Facility. Chris Pine, who plays Captain James Kirk, and Zachary Quinto (Mr. Spock), concocted a prank to play on John Cho (Sulu, the senior helmsman) and Karl Urban (Leonard "Bones" McCoy, the ship's doctor), and enlisted everyone else to help. (The Globe and Mail)
May 12, 2013
Benedict Cumberbatch has fun as a villain
Actor Benedict Cumberbatch got a view of the Bay Area that most natives have never seen when "Star Trek: Into Darkness" filmed scenes at NIF, the massive laser serving as the location for the engine room and other locations within the Enterprise. (San Francisco Chronicle)
May 3, 2013
Fusion Scientists See Progress as Obama Shows No Ardor
If the NIF laser can spark atoms to fuse in a self-sustaining reaction known as ignition, scientists may be on their way to rewarding the planet with unlimited and nonpolluting energy. (Bloomberg Markets)
May 1, 2013
'Star Trek' Boldly Goes to Unlikely Real-Life Locations
For "Star Trek: Into Darkness," the filmmakers went to a new location that was in line with the scientific ideals of "Star Trek": the National Ignition Facility, the world's largest laser, at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. (Yahoo! Movies)
April 29, 2013
New director and mission transition at NIF
Jeffrey Atherton has been named the new director of the National Ignition Facility, effective May 1. The previous director, Ed Moses, will remain the principal associate director for the NIF & Photon Science Directorate. NIF itself is making a transistion to user facility. (Laser Focus World)
April 10, 2013
LASER FUSION: NRC panel offers strategy for inertial fusion
Inertial fusion energy could have a bright future, says a National Research Council (NRC) report issued Feb. 20, 2013. (Laser Focus World)
April 8, 2013
Take a Tour of the National Ignition Facility
NIF's operations manager Bruno Van Wonterghem shows off the laser facility. (IEEE Spectrum) (Video)
April 3, 2013
Understanding the potential of fusion energy
Scientists with the National Ignition Facility believe they are now poised to demonstrate fuel ignition and energy release from hydrogen fusion within the next few years. The delivery of clean and affordable fusion energy will then become a worldwide reality. (Troy Media via PeakOil)
April 2, 2013
A Challenge to America: Develop Fusion Power Within a Decade
America's scientists could begin today to build the next generation of facilities to develop and prove the feasibility of fusion power. (Forbes)
April 1, 2013
Viewpoint: Zooming in on Laser-Driven Fusion
A major source of energy loss in laser-driven fusion could be remedied with the use of optical elements called zooming-phase plates. (Physics)
April 2013
Laser Fusion's Brightest Hope
The National Ignition Facility houses the world's most powerful laser. Is it enough to ignite a fusion revolution? (IEEE Spectrum)
March 1, 2013
Report Backs NIF Energy Research
A report issued by the National Research Council was supportive of proceeding with the development of inertial fusion energy, noting this would be the "appropriate time for the establishment of a national, coordinated, broad-based inertial fusion energy program." (Livermore Independent)
February 28, 2013
Inertial fusion energy gets a nod
National Research Council panel backs research on laser fusion as a potential clean energy source, but cautions that ignition is a prerequisite to confidence. (Physics Today)
February 22, 2013
Giant laser needs a revamp to achieve nuclear fusion
There's more than one way to spark a star. Although the world's biggest laser missed a key target date on the road to producing clean energy via nuclear fusion, an independent review panel says the technology holds enough promise to continue the quest – with a few modifications. (New Scientist)
February 20, 2013
Potential benefits of inertial fusion energy justify continued R&D
The potential benefits of successful development of an inertial confinement fusion-based energy technology justify investment in fusion energy research and development as part of the long-term U.S. energy R&D portfolio, says a new report from the National Research Council. (National Academy of Science)
February 20, 2013
Future U.S. Fusion Research Should Keep Options Open, Report Concludes
The United States should embark on a coordinated national research program into inertial confinement fusion–but only after researchers successfully demonstrate the scientific basis of the technology by creating a burning plasma in the laboratory, an expert panel assembled by the U.S. National Academies recommends. (Science Insider)
February 1, 2013
NNSA Proposes 3-Year Look at NIF
The report, written by the National Nuclear Security Administration, notes, "The (National Ignition Campaign) made significant progress and brought NNSA closer than ever before to ignition in the laboratory." (Livermore Independent)
