Back
Lasers
NIF experiments show initial gain in fusion fuel
LIVERMORE, Calif. - Ignition -- the process of releasing fusion energy equal to or greater than the amount of energy used to confine the fuel -- has long been considered the "holy grail" of inertial confinement fusion science. A key step along the path to ignition is to have "fuel gains" greater than unity, where the energy generated through fusion reactions exceeds the…
New X-ray analysis method opens the door to researching an elusive class of proteins
An international team of researchers has demonstrated a new method for studying the structure of proteins that could lead to important advances in biology and other fields. For the first time, protein crystals have been studied in two dimensions at room temperature with X-rays, using a new technique that could open the door for scientists to learn more about an important…
NIF experimental campaign highlighted by Physical Review Letters
Demonstrating the controlled fusing of deuterium and tritium (hydrogen isotopes), such that more energy is produced than is used to create the fusions, is one of the stated goals of the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Two papers published Feb. 5 in Physical Review Letters describe the "high-foot" series of experiments begun last spring, which bring NIF closer to…
Lawrence Livermore scientist selected as SPIE Fellow
LIVERMORE, Calif. - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist Steve Payne was recently selected as a fellow of SPIE, an international professional society for optics and photonics. Payne, an active SPIE participant since the mid-1980s, is the group leader for sensor materials and measurements in the Lab's Materials Sciences Division and is the associate…
Lawrence Livermore announces significant step in the construction of a next-generation ultra-high power laser system
LIVERMORE, Calif. --Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has awarded a major subcontract to FEMTOLASERS Produktions GmbH (based in Vienna, Austria) as part of the construction of a revolutionary high-power laser system for the European ELI-Beamlines science facility in the Czech Republic. LLNL is constructing the "High Repetition-Rate Advanced Petawatt Laser…
Journal cover features Lawrence Livermore's intense laser interaction simulation research
Research from the Lab'sFrederic Perez, Andreas Kemp, Laurent Divol, Cliff Chen and Prav Patel is featured on the cover of the Dec. 13 2013 issue of Physical Review Letters. For several decades, physicists have used lasers of very high power, such as at LLNL's Jupiter Laser Facility, to create extreme states of matter. By focusing such lasers to a beam as narrow as a few…
Media Advisory: Lawrence Livermore to announce significant step in the construction of next-generation laser system
WHO: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Femtolasers will announce a new partnership.WHAT: Following an international competitive tender, LLNL will announce Femtolasers as the winning bidder for supply of a cutting-edge short pulse front-end, which will seed the High Repetition Rate Advanced Petawatt Laser system (HAPLS), currently under development for the…
Lawrence Livermore researchers demonstrate high-energy betatron X-rays
A Lawrence Livermore team, along with researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, has recently produced some of the highest energy betatron X-rays ever demonstrated, with the added benefit of being produced on a system the size of a large tabletop. Betatron X-ray radiation, produced when relativistic electrons are…
Two Lawrence Livermore researchers named 2013 APS fellows
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Two Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have been selected as 2013 fellows of the American Physical Society (APS).John Moody, acting group leader for hohlraum energetics/optical diagnostics in the Inertial Confinement Fusion Program, was cited in the plasma physics category for "pioneering experiments contributing to understanding…
LLNL sustainability efforts recognized by NNSA
Three of Lawrence Livermore's sustainability projects have been recognized by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) with 2013 Sustainability Awards.The awards recognize exemplary individual and team performance in advancing sustainability objectives through innovative and effective programs and projects that increase energy, water and fleet efficiency and…
Edward Moses to lead Fusion Ignition Science and Applications research effort -- Jeff Wisoff appointed acting principal associate director of NIF & Photon Science
LIVERMORE, Calif. - Edward Moses, the principal associate director for the National Ignition Facility & Photon Science (NIF&PS) Directorate, will be taking a new position to lead a two-year effort to explore the science and applications of ignition, including the commercial prospects for laser inertial fusion energy. In this role, Moses will bring together academia…
Lawrence Livermore to build advanced laser system in Czech Republic
LIVERMORE, Calif. - Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), through Lawrence Livermore National Security LLC (LLNS), has been awarded more than $45 million to develop and deliver a state-of-the-art laser system for the European Union's Extreme Light Infrastructure Beamlines facility ( ELI-Beamlines ), under construction in Dolni Brezany near Prague in the Czech…
Laser fusion experiment yields record energy at LLNL's National Ignition Facility
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- In the early morning hours of Aug.13, Lawrence Livermore's National Ignition Facility (NIF) focused all 192 of its ultra-powerful laser beams on a tiny deuterium-tritium filled capsule. In the nanoseconds that followed, the capsule imploded and released a neutron yield of nearly 3x10 15 , or approximately 8,000 joules of neutron energy -- approximately…
Lab researchers achieve record pressure for solid iron
Iron is the most abundant element in Earth's core and the sixth most abundant element in the universe. As a key component of terrestrial planets and exoplanets, iron has been one of the most studied materials under extreme conditions.In a series of campaigns led by the Lab's Yuan Ping using the OMEGA laser at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) at the University of…
D2T3 to join the ranks at National Ignition Facility
A new employee will soon be added to the roster of those working on Level 2 of the National Ignition Facility's (NIF) Target Bay. His name is D2T3, and his duties will be a bit different than his colleagues'.D2T3 -- named for the hydrogen isotopes that serve as fuel for NIF's fusion targets -- is a radiation-detecting, remote controlled robot. Currently in testing and…
'Route 66 to the Atomic West' class visits the Lab
It's the road trip of a lifetime. One professor and 19 students traveling through 11 states in 27 days across the American West to develop an in-depth understanding of western Cold War, urban and cultural history."Route 66 to the Atomic West" is a class offered by the University of West Florida (UWF) in Pensacola, Fla. Taught by Patrick Moore, UWF public history program…
National Ignition Facility provides backdrop for "Star Trek: Into Darkness"
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- The makers of "Star Trek: Into Darkness" went boldly where few have gone before when they visited Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world's largest and most energetic laser system. With the approval of the Department of Energy, this unique facility was utilized for the first time as a film set. The filming…
NIF transitions to international science facility; Jeff Atherton named NIF director
LIVERMORE, Calif. - L. Jeffrey (Jeff) Atherton has been named director of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Director Parney Albright announced Monday.Effective May 1, Atherton will take on the role of director as NIF, the world's largest and most energetic laser, transitions to a user facility. Ed Moses will remain the…
Fiuza wins EPS Plasma Physics Ph.D. Research Award
Lawrence Fellow Frederico Fiuza is one of three recipients of this year's Ph.D. Research Award from the Plasma Physics Division of the European Physical Society (EPS). Fiuza will receive his award during the 40th EPS plasma physics conference, held in Helsinki, Finland, July 1-5. Fiuza received the award for the work on his doctoral thesis, " Multi-scale PIC Simulations of…
National Academies recommend high priority for work on Lawrence Livermore's National Ignition Facility
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- A report issued by the National Research Council highlights the significant impact of successful development of inertial fusion energy (IFE), and recommends priorities for future research in this area. As noted in this National Academies' report, "The potential benefits of inertial confinement fusion energy (abundant fuel, minimal greenhouse gas…
