Taking the Temperature of Plutonium

In an ambitious five-year project, LLNL researchers and their colleagues have developed an experimental platform designed to determine the internal energy of plutonium under pressures of 10 million Earth atmospheres or more.

LLNL, Amazon partner on groundbreaking AI integration at the National Ignition Facility

Today, LLNL and Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced a partnership to develop an AI-driven troubleshooting and reliability system for the National Ignition Facility. The team recently completed the first phase of integrating generative AI capabilities into operations.

LLNL Research Sets New Gold Standard to Narrow ICF ‘Drive Deficit’

LLNL researchers have identified the primary physical contributor to discrepancies between simulations and experimental results in inertial confinement fusion experiments.

LLNL Hosts Workshop to Shape the Future of Diode-Pumped Laser Technology

LLNL recently hosted a workshop to assemble the world’s top experts in diode-pumped solid-state laser (DPSSL) systems, a key technology for the future of inertial fusion research and energy.

New NIF Diagnostic Tool Will Make ‘Movies’ of Phase Changes in Materials

In a significant advance in high-pressure physics, LLNL researchers developed a tool to capture real-time sequential images of phase changes in materials. This new diagnostic instrument—dubbed FIDDLE—is shedding light on the nanosecond dynamics of matter under extreme conditions.

Showing How Plasma Electrons Can Enhance Fusion Reaction Rates

A NIF Discovery Science campaign is hoping to demonstrate that free electrons in a plasma can help positively charged atomic nuclei “tunnel” through the electrostatic barrier that keeps them apart and fuse.

From Ignition in the Laboratory to Fusion Energy

LLNL physicist Dan Casey outlined the challenges involved in moving from the achievement of fusion ignition at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility to practical inertial fusion energy at a recent Kavli Frontiers of Science symposium in Kyoto, Japan.

LLNL's Scientific Expertise Highlighted at Plasma Physics Meeting

The breadth and depth of scientific research conducted at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory was on full display at the 2024 meeting of the American Physical Society’s Division of Plasma Physics, held Oct. 7-11 in Atlanta.

Diagnostics Explored the ‘Unknowns’ in NIF Ignition Experiments

A recent Physics of Plasmas paper showed how sophisticated diagnostic equipment played a central role in testing the ICF models, simulations, and experimental designs used in laser shots that led to ignition at NIF.

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.