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.

High Performance Computing, AI, and Cognitive Simulation Helped LLNL Conquer Fusion Ignition

Part 10 of “The Age of Ignition,” a NIF & Photon Science News Special Report describing the elements of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s fusion breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility

How AI Predicted Fusion Ignition Before It Happened

At 1:03 a.m. on Dec. 5, 2022, 192 laser beams at the National Ignition Facility focused 2.05 megajoules of energy onto a peppercorn-sized capsule of frozen hydrogen fuel. In this talk, Humbird and Peterson discussed the breakthrough experiment, nuclear fusion, and how we used machine learning to call the shot heard around the world.

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 Sustainment: Ensuring the Next 20 Years of Progress

Part 9 of “The Age of Ignition,” a NIF & Photon Science News Special Report describing the elements of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s fusion breakthrough at the National Ignition Facility

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.

Target Evolution Is a Key to NIF’s Continued Success

Part 8 of “The Age of Ignition,” a NIF & Photon Science News Special Report describing the elements of the National Ignition Facility’s fusion breakthrough

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...

Diagnostics Were Crucial to LLNL’s Historic Ignition Shot

Part 7 of “The Age of Ignition,” a NIF & Photon Science News Special Report describing the elements of the National Ignition Facility’s fusion breakthrough

Computing Codes, Simulations Helped Make Ignition Possible

Part 6 of “The Age of Ignition,” a NIF & Photon Science News Special Report describing the elements of the National Ignition Facility’s fusion breakthrough

NIF’s Optics Meet the Demands of Increased Laser Energy

Part 5 of “The Age of Ignition,” a NIF & Photon Science News Special Report describing the elements of the National Ignition Facility’s fusion breakthrough

Laser Focused: Power and Finesse Drove NIF’s Fusion Ignition Success

To achieve fusion ignition on Dec. 5, 2022, the National Ignition Facility (NIF)’s laser system needed to operate flawlessly at both ends of the performance spectrum, delivering immense energies while controlling the energy balance across all 192 laser beams with extreme precision.

Ignition Experiment Advances Stockpile Stewardship Mission

Part 3 of “The Age of Ignition,” a NIF & Photon Science News Special Report describing the elements of the National Ignition Facility’s fusion breakthrough

Laser shots at National Ignition Facility could spark additional discoveries in astrophysics

In December, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory made headlines worldwide. Scientists at the NIF performed the first nuclear fusion experiment in which the energy produced from fusion exceeded the amount of energy directly applied to the fuel to ignite it.

LLNL Scientists Cheer Dawn of the ‘Era of Ignition’

The National Ignition Facility (NIF)’s historic Dec. 5 fusion ignition experiment has generated awe, pride, and bright optimism about the future among Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) employees.

NIF’s Fusion Ignition Shot Hailed as Historic Scientific Feat

NIF’s monumental, first-ever demonstration of fusion ignition marks a breakthrough for fusion energy and an initial step in a decades-long quest for clean energy, according to U.S. government officials and LLNL scientists.

Magnetized Targets Boost NIF Implosion Performance

By imbedding a target capsule in a strong magnetic field, inertial confinement fusion (ICF) researchers have demonstrated a potential path to sustained high-energy-yield NIF implosions.

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.

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.

‘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.