Automated Target Measurements Contribute to LLNL's Ignition Success

An advanced technique for characterizing high-quality target capsules for NIF experiments has played an important role in LLNL's recent success in repeatedly achieving fusion ignition.

Putting the Squeeze on Helium

Researchers are developing a way to “precompress” helium under very high pressure, then blasting it with NIF’s lasers to compress it even further. They want to learn the roles of density and temperature in converting liquid helium from an insulator to a metallic substance able to conduct electricity.

NIF Takes a Quantum Leap into Elusive Metallic Hydrogen

Experiments are underway in NIF’s Discovery Science program as researchers try to characterize hydrogen’s optical properties and equation of state — and perhaps create the metallic state of hydrogen predicted decades ago.

New NIF Experimental Platform Will Probe Warm Dense Matter

Warm dense matter (WDM) is present in the interior of planets and some stars and is also produced in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments. A new NIF platform will provide unique, high-quality experimental data to guide the complex models required to simulate the properties of WDM.

NIF and JLF User Groups Cite HED Science Successes Amid Pandemic

At this year’s meeting of the NIF and JLF user groups, facility leaders cited a number of HED science successes amid the challenges of the pandemic.

Fusion Milestone Creates Buzz at Hybrid APS Plasma Physics Meeting

LLNL physicist Debbie Callahan has given plenty of presentations over the years—but she didn’t expect a standing ovation at the 2021 APS Division of Plasma Physics (APS DPP) meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

NIF Diagnostics Played Key Role in Fusion Milestone

The National Ignition Facility (NIF)’s highly specialized and sophisticated measuring instruments known as diagnostics were integral to the record-setting inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiment that produced more than 1.3 million joules (MJ) of fusion energy.

New Book Highlights Sol-Gel Processing’s Impact on Optics and Photonic Materials

LLNL scientists Tayyab Suratwala, Pam Whitman, and Marcus Monticelli wrote the first chapter of a just-released book, Sol-Gel Derived Optical and Photonic Materials

NIF Experiments Among Highlights at Virtual APS Plasma Physics Conference

Scientific discoveries, educational opportunities, and wide-ranging events highlighted the recent 62nd American Physical Society-Division of Plasma Physics annual meeting, which attracted a record number of participants from around the world.

Newest ‘Ruby’ Supercomputer Helps NIF, NNSA, and COVID-19 Research

LLNL, along with partners Intel, Supermicro, and Cornelis Networks, have deployed “Ruby,” a high performance computing cluster that supports NIF’s ICF experiments, perform functions for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and boost the Lab’s COVID-19 research.

DOE Honors HED Scientist With Early Career Award

LLNL physicist Federica Coppari and microbiologist Erin Nuccio were honored with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science Early Career Research Program award.

Plasma Studies Yield New Insights into NIF Implosions and ‘Failed Stars’

LLNL and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) researchers have developed an innovative technique for diagnosing the properties of the plasma created during inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions on NIF. The results could inform NIF’s pursuit of ignition and provide new clues about the makeup of the enigmatic brown dwarfs known as “failed stars.”

NIF-JLF User Group Celebrates Exciting Future for HED Science

The annual NIF and Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF) User Group meeting held this month brought together 186 researchers to review recent experimental results, preview upcoming Discovery Science campaigns, and learn about new capabilities and experimental platforms at  both LLNL facilities. The attendees included 56 students and represented approximately 42 institutions from six countries (See Vi...

LLNL Physicist Elected to Lead APS Division of Plasma Physics

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) physicist Denise Hinkel was elected vice chair of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Plasma Physics (DPP), the first step in a four-year leadership commitment that will include a stint as the organization’s chair. Hinkel, who is leading Inertial Confinement Fusion projects and is a group leader in the Design Physics Division, was...

STAR Array Tests Materials’ Response to Strong X-ray Shocks

At first glance it might be mistaken for a model of the Millennium Falcon of “Star Wars” fame. But it’s actually a new radiation-effects diagnostic that nearly triples the number of material samples that can be exposed to x rays in a single NIF shot.

Scholar Learns From NIF’s ‘Tasting Platter of HED Science’

As a kid, Raspberry Simpson found inspiration in the mysteries of the universe while spending many hours after school inside New York’s Hayden Planetarium. “I don’t really think I knew then I could be a scientist as a career, but I knew I was really interested in it,” Simpson said. “And I learned through lots of great teachers that this could be a job eventually.” This year, the MIT...

Improving 3-D Models Could Help Guide NIF’s Pursuit of Ignition

An LLNL research team described the results of several years of effort to develop a modeling capability “reliable enough to guide NIF experiments to ignition” in a featured Physics of Plasmas paper.

Physicist Maria Gatu Johnson Wins APS Award

Nuclear physicist Maria Gatu Johnson, who plays a key role in inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and Discovery Science campaigns at NIF, was named winner of the Katherine E. Weimer Award recognizing outstanding plasma science research by a woman physicist in the early stages of her career.

NIF's Jamie King Receives Laser Safety Award

The Laser Institute of America (LIA) has recognized Jamie King, certified laser safety officer (CLSO) for  NIF and LLNL, with the R. James Rockwell, Jr. Educational Achievement Award. The award honors outstanding contributions in laser safety education through efforts such as training and education courses, publications, software development, significant involvement in safety-related...

LLNL’s Virtual Beam Line++ Now Available to Users

Physicists designing new laser systems and modeling laser performance at LLNL now have a powerful new tool in their hands with the Rigel release of Virtual Beam Line++ (VBL++).