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.

Two LLNL Physicists Honored for International Collaboration

LLNL physicists Hye-Sook Park and George Swadling, Anna Grassi of France’s Sorbonne University, and former Lawrence Fellow Frederico Fiuza of Portugal’s Técnico Lisboa, received the 2024 Lev D. Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Plasma Physics.

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.

Video: Igniting Scientific Discovery with AI and Supercomputing

LLNL’s ignition breakthrough at NIF was enabled by a combination of traditional fusion target design methods, world-class supercomputing, and artificial intelligence techniques.

Supercomputer Simulations of Super-Diamond Suggest a Path to Its Creation

Another form of carbon has been predicted to be even tougher than diamond. The challenge, which inspires ongoing Discovery Science experiments at NIF, is how to create it on Earth.

Using NIF to Study the Sluggish Pace of Star Formation

To search for solutions to a puzzle of why the star formation rate is declining, an international team of researchers has turned to the unprecedented capabilities of NIF.

LLNL-led project to advance understanding of plasma dynamics for future fusion power plants

A Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-led project aimed at using computing tools to improve understanding of fusion plasma dynamics was among 12 projects recently awarded funding by the Department of Energy (DOE) to accelerate fusion power plant development.

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.

Experiments Shed Light on Pressure-Driven Ionization in Giant Planets and Stars

Scientists have conducted laboratory experiments at LLNL’s NIF that provide new insights on the complex process of pressure-driven ionization in giant planets and stars.

NIF and JLF User Groups Look Beyond Ignition to Bright Possibilities in Science

Attendees at this year’s NIF and JLF User Groups Meeting celebrated Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) recent fusion ignition breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility, but also kept their focus on looking ahead to a bright future of high energy density (HED) science research.

Iron Under Extremes

Science & Technology Review: LLNL scientists have performed a series of experiments through NIF’s Discovery Science Program to replicate the extreme conditions within super-Earth cores.

Unraveling Warm Dense Matter: From Simulations to Experiments

Researchers at LLNL and many other facilities are increasingly intrigued by warm dense matter (WDM), an extreme state between cold matter and hot plasma characterized by high temperatures, high pressures, and densities approaching and even partially exceeding solid objects.

Beyond Diamond: Seeking An Elusive Phase of Carbon

Carbon, an essential ingredient of life on Earth, is a shapeshifter. The extreme strength of carbon-carbon bonds enables the material to take on many different structural forms, called phases or allotropes, at ambient temperatures and pressures. Examples range from the familiar, such as graphite and diamond, to more exotic forms like zero-dimensional fullerenes, 1-D nanotubes, 2-D graphene...

Breaking the strongest chemical bonds with laser shock compression

New thermodynamic data on warm dense nitrogen might help unlock some of the mysteries regarding the behavior of hydrogen molecules in the early stages of ICF implosions at NIF.

Ironing Out the Interiors of Exoplanets

LLNL scientists and collaborators have used NIF’s lasers to experimentally determine the high-pressure melting curve and structural properties of pure iron up to 1,000 GPa (nearly 10 million atmospheres), three times the pressure of Earth’s inner core and nearly four times greater pressure than any previous experiments.

Visit LLNL’s Virtual Discovery Center

While LLNL Discovery Center visits remain on pause, you can learn more about NIF’s Target Chamber, hohlraums, optics, and lasers by clicking through our interactive Virtual Discovery Center. Read more...

NIF Research Highlighted at Virtual Plasma Physics Conference

Eight LLNL researchers presented NIF-related talks and posters at the 47th European Physical Society Plasma Physics Conference, held online June 21-25. Attendees heard updates about NIF Discovery Science experiments, experiments manipulating the speed and polarization of light, 3D modeling aimed at reducing asymmetries in NIF implosions, and other advancements in modeling and diagnostics.

New Geometry for a Neutron Source Platform for NIF

Scientists have demonstrated an inverted-corona platform, a new geometry for a neutron-source platform that adds another tool to NIF’s growing list of capabilities.

Smashing Gold, Platinum with Finesse

Shockless compression experiments at NIF and Sandia’s Z Machine have established new pressure scales to measure the compression of gold and platinum when squeezed to 1 terapascal with extremely high precision.

Research on Materials Under Extreme Conditions

In Physics of Plasmas, LLNL physicist Hye-Sook Park discussed various experimental techniques and key findings of material states under HED conditions.