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Lasers and Optical S&T
High explosives in slow motion: freezing molecules in place shows chemical reactions
Safe and effective high explosives are critical to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) mission of stockpile stewardship. It is relatively simple to study the composition of such material before a detonation or examine the soot-like remnants afterward. But the chemistry in between, which dictates much of the detonation process, evades experimental interrogation…
LLNL’s high-resolution telescope system to usher in a new era of lunar exploration
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is playing a pivotal role supporting a groundbreaking lunar imaging effort in collaboration with Firefly Aerospace. A LLNL state-of-the-art telescope system will be deployed onboard Firefly’s Elytra orbital vehicle to enable Firefly’s new Ocula imaging service, as early as 2026. This marks the first planned commercial lunar…
LLNL will host watch party on June 23 to unveil Rubin Observatory’s first images
The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will release its first set of images on June 23, 2025. The achievement marks the beginning of a new era in astronomy, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) will be part of the action as it hosts a first look watch party for both staff and the public. Anyone is welcome to attend the watch party at the University of California…
Las Positas College, LLNL offer Laser Optics Workshop
Laser and Electronic Optics Technicians (LEOTs) are critical to the operation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) and other laser systems. In addition to being the world’s most energetic laser and the only place where fusion ignition has been achieved in a laboratory, NIF is also the world’s largest optical instrument. But LEOTs,…
LLNL, Amazon partner on groundbreaking AI integration at the National Ignition Facility
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a data factory — when NIF’s high-energy-density physics experiments go off in the blink of an eye, valuable scientific data is the product. LLNL already leverages AI tools to manage this data, using them to improve predictive modeling capabilities and transform optics inspection and target…
LLNL experts foster national fusion-energy ecosystem at IFE-STAR Conference
More than 200 fusion energy experts from national labs, academia and the private sector gathered in Breckenridge, Colorado, last month to assess the state of the art in inertial fusion energy (IFE). IFE is a form of fusion energy that uses lasers to create the same fusion reactions that power the sun and stars. It relies on fusion gain, in which more fusion energy is…
Nuclear Fusion journal recognizes LLNL paper
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) nuclear engineer Charles Yeamans and co-authors have been recognized with the 2024 Nuclear Fusion Award for outstanding work published in the journal. The paper, “High yield polar direct drive fusion neutron sources at the National Ignition Facility,” was published in 2021. Co-authors are G. Elijah Kemp, Zachary Walters,…
Big Ideas Lab podcast returns to shine a light on Jupiter Laser Facility
Since their invention in 1960, lasers have been a staple of science fiction. But beyond sci-fi, the technology is an essential, often overlooked, part of everyday life. From scanning barcodes to operating on eyes to recreating the conditions in the sun, laser applications range from mundane to life changing. The Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF) at Lawrence Livermore National…
A brighter future for the Jupiter Laser Facility
Since the 1970s, the Janus laser, now part of the Jupiter Laser Facility (JLF), has served as an experimental proving ground to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) laser and fusion programs and the broader high-energy-density and laser science communities. Today, JLF is not only home to Janus — one of the world’s few hands-on laser platforms producing…
Big Ideas Lab Podcast explores the future of fusion energy
Harnessing fusion energy, the same process that fuels our Sun and the stars, to power our world is one of humanity’s most ambitious scientific challenges. In December 2022, that quest took a giant leap forward when Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) achieved fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility (NIF). But what will it take to translate this…
Ride the optics recycling loop with the Big Ideas Lab Podcast
If Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) was a race car, it would run at the redline most of the time. And NIF’s optics bear the brunt of that stress. Throughout the beamline, thousands of optics, many 40-centimeter square in size, amplify, transmit, reflect, change wavelength or focus the lasers as they travel nearly a kilometer to the…
Big Ideas Lab Podcast takes on National Ignition Facility sustainment
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is home to the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world’s largest and most energetic laser system— and the only lab on earth where fusion ignition has been achieved and repeated. The latest episode of the Big Ideas podcast tackles the work necessary to keep such a facility running. Listen on Apple or Spotify. NIF was…
The power of partnerships: How LLNL laser technology is transforming industrial manufacturing
It’s the late 1990s. Lloyd Hackel and Brent Dane are researchers in Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) laser science and technology program. They’re developing laser technology for X-ray lithography and satellite imaging research for the Department of Defense when the phone rings. On the line is Curtiss-Wright’s Metal Improvement Company (MIC) asking about…
LLNL selected to lead next-gen extreme ultraviolet lithography research
Decades of cutting-edge laser, optics and plasma physics research at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) played a key role in the underlying science that the semiconductor industry uses to manufacture advanced microprocessors. These computer chips drive today’s astounding innovations in artificial intelligence, high-performance supercomputers and smart phones…
John H. Nuckolls receives Enrico Fermi Presidential Award
The Biden-Harris Administration has recognized former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) director John H. Nuckolls with the Enrico Fermi Award, one of the oldest and most prestigious science and technology honors bestowed by the U.S. government. The award will be shared with two other scientists, Héctor D. Abruña and Paul Alivisatos. Nuckols was selected “for…
A look back at the first inertial confinement fusion experiment in 1974
Fifty years ago in December 1974, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)’s inertial confinement fusion (ICF) program blasted a glass ball so tiny it was hardly visible to the human eye. The experiment was small, but the result was enormous. “It was the simplest possible experiment to achieve thermonuclear fusion,” said LLNL senior scientist John Lindl. This…
LLNL leadership engages in global fusion energy efforts
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) leadership is engaging with world leaders to make fusion energy a reality. Last week, LLNL Director Kim Budil joined the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) inaugural meeting of leading fusion energy experts and high-level policymakers from 35 countries in Rome. “In the face of growing global competition and a…
LLNL researchers explore next-gen 3D printing to harness fusion energy
When Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) achieved fusion ignition at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) in December 2022, the world’s attention turned to the prospect of how that breakthrough experiment — designed to secure the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile — might also pave the way for virtually limitless, safe and carbon-free fusion energy. Advanced 3D…
Three Lab scientists named 2024 APS Fellows
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists Daniel Casey, Daniel Clark and Raymond Smith have been named 2024 American Physical Society (APS) Fellows. Casey was selected for “outstanding contributions to the understanding of the stagnation conditions required to achieve ignition.” Clark was honored for “extensive contributions to inertial confinement fusion…
LLNL presents on fusion energy at industry collaboration event
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently joined representatives from higher education, including Columbia University, government officials from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the Air Force Research Laboratory as well as tech industry guests and moderators from Google, Bloomberg, Fortune and venture capital at the Roadrunner Technology Forum in…
