News

New Generation of Laser Safety Officers Convene for DOE Workshop

A recent Department of Energy (DOE)-organized laser safety workshop showcased how national laboratory safety regulations such as those developed at LLNL and NIF are helping to raise the standards at academic-based research facilities.

Under pressure: solid matter takes on new behavior

Investigating how solid matter behaves at enormous pressures, such as those found in the deep interiors of giant planets, is a great experimental challenge.

A Shot Like No Other

The following is an excerpt from an article by Suzanne Storar in the January/February 2022 issue of Science & Technology Review.

High-Laser-Energy Shot Puts NIF Back on Track Toward Ignition

A record high-laser-energy NIF target shot on Sept. 19 produced about 1.2 million joules of fusion energy yield.

LLNL researchers observe that ions behave differently in fusion reactions

Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have discovered that ions behave differently in fusion reactions than previously expected, thus providing important insights for the future design of a laser­–fusion energy source.

NIF Research Will Shed Light on Black Holes and Astrophysical Plasmas

Thanks to their massive gravity, compact astrophysical objects like black holes and neutron stars are among the most voracious entities in the universe, gobbling up interstellar gas and even dragging matter away from nearby stars in what are known as accretion disks.

Meet Caitlin Rowe, LLNL’s Gold Star Intern

In her 21 years, Caitlin Rowe has overcome overwhelming obstacles to excel as a college graduate, as a summer intern working on nuclear survivability experiments—and as a person.

Bruce Remington Honored with American Physical Society Award

NIF Discovery Science Program Leader Bruce Remington, a distinguished member of the technical staff at LLNL, has been honored with the American Physical Society’s (APS) 2023 George E. Duvall Shock Compression Science Award.

Two LLNL-led papers win Test of Time awards at 2022 IEEE VIS conference

Two Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-led teams received SciVis Test of Time awards at the 2022 IEEE VIS conference on Oct. 18, for papers that have achieved lasting relevancy in the field of scientific visualization.

‘Twisted’ Laser Light Experiments Offer New Insights into Plasma Physics

Electromagnetic vortices are naturally occurring throughout the universe and have recently been observed in association with black holes.

Two LLNL scientists selected as 2022 APS fellows

Physicists Andrea (Annie) Kritcher and Ronnie Shepherd were both selected by the APS Division of Plasma Physics.

Future of High-Intensity Laser Science and Applications Highlights LaserNetUS Meeting

The exciting future of inertial fusion energy, laser science, and high energy density (HED) research was highlighted at a recent conference that brought together representatives of LaserNetUS, a network of 10 ultra-powerful laser facilities that includes LLNL’s Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF)

Expanded Capabilities and Opportunities for Virtual Beam Line Code

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has steadily pushed the boundaries of laser physics, nonlinear optics, and photonics in service of inertial confinement fusion experiments and advanced photon sources development.

Apprentice program graduates look forward to careers as Lab machinists

After earning a bachelor’s degree in health education at San Francisco State University, Kwadwo Kumi-Amankwah wanted a more hands-on career

Video: The Beamline to Ignition

In this video, you can follow the journey of NIF’s laser beams as they increase in energy from 1 billionth of a joule to 4 million joules by the time they reach the center of the Target Chamber.

The people of stockpile stewardship are the key to LLNL’s success

The last nuclear test, code-named Divider, took place 30 years ago, on Sept. 23, 1992. That year, President Bush declared a temporary moratorium on nuclear testing, which became permanent during the Clinton administration. This ending of the era of nuclear testing was also the beginning of stockpile stewardship.

Scientific discovery for stockpile stewardship

Scientific discovery during the Stockpile Stewardship Program maintains confidence in the nuclear deterrent without testing, brings other benefits

Developing technology to keep the nuclear stockpile safe, secure and reliable

The last nuclear test, code-named Divider, took place 30 years ago, on Sept. 23, 1992. That year, President Bush declared a temporary moratorium on nuclear testing, which became permanent in 1995, during the Clinton administration. This ending of the era of nuclear testing coincided with a Presidential announcement of the beginning of stockpile stewardship.

Researchers Use NIF for Deep Dive into Interiors of Red Dwarfs

Red dwarfs are the most abundant stars in the Milky Way, making up 70 percent of all stars.

LLNL Scientist Receives APS Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award

LLNL scientist Alison Christopherson has received the American Physical Society’s (APS) Marshall N. Rosenbluth Outstanding Doctoral Thesis award, which recognizes exceptional early career scientists in plasma physics.