Research confirms importance of symmetry in pre-ignition fusion experiments
LLNL researchers retrospectively confirm that implosion asymmetry was a major aspect for fusion experiments.
Lasers & Optics
It’s getting hot in here: lasers deliver powerful shocking punch
LLNL scientists use ultra-fast X-ray probes to track the thermal response of aluminum and zirconium on shock release from experiments.
Fusion Power Associates honors Bruno Van Wonterghem
Bruno Van Wonterghem, operations manager at LLNL's National Ignition Facility (NIF), was awarded a 2024 Distinguished Career Award by Fusion Power Associates (FPA).
LLNL researchers uncover key to resolving long-standing ICF hohlraum drive deficit
LLNL researchers make advancements in understanding and resolving the long-standing "drive-deficit" problem in indirect-drive ICF experiments.
Two LLNL physicists honored for international collaboration
LLNL physicists Hye-Sook Park and George Swadling received the 2024 Lev D. Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Plasma Physics.
Machine learning optimizes high-power laser experiments
LLNL international scientists and collaborators collaborate on an experiment to optimize a high-intensity, high-repetition-rate laser using machine learning.
LLNL’s Raspberry Simpson named Kavli Fellow
Raspberry Simpson, a Lawrence Fellow in LLNL's National Ignition Facility and Photon Science (NIF&PS) Directorate, has been named a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Kavli Fellow.
LLNL’s breakthrough ignition experiment highlighted in Physical Review Letters
The details of the historic Dec. 5, 2022, fusion ignition experiment are presented in the Feb. 5, 2024, issue of Physical Review Letters.
Enhanced capability proposal aims to boost ignition yield
Studies using recent ignition experiments indicate such an upgrade in laser energy could increase fusion output by a factor of 10, resulting in yields in the 30 MJ range.
Watching aluminum’s reaction under extreme pressure
In new research appearing in Applied Physics Letters, a team of researchers from LLNL and University of California, San Diego conducted experiments to see how aluminum reacts to a laser under extreme pressure when a tamper material is used on picosecond (ps) time scales.