The National Ignition Facility (NIF) is a large-scale scientific research project located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, USA. It houses the world’s most powerful laser system, which consists of 192 beams capable of delivering nearly 2 million joules of ultraviolet laser light in a single pulse lasting just a few billionths of a second. This facility was completed in 2009 and is primarily focused on the study of inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and high-energy-density physics. The NIF aims to achieve nuclear fusion by using lasers to compress and heat small targets of hydrogen isotopes until they fuse, a process that could potentially provide an abundant source of clean and sustainable energy. The research conducted at NIF also has significant implications for nuclear weapon maintenance and development, astrophysics, and materials science, offering critical insights into the behavior of matter under extreme conditions.
A research team, including scientists from the University of Rostock and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), has conducted laboratory experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)…
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory successfully used the world’s most powerful laser to simulate and study pressure-driven ionization, a process vital to understanding the…
Researchers discover that ions behave differently in fusion reactions. Ions behave differently in fusion reactions than previously expected, according to new findings by scientists at…
In findings that could help advance another “viable pathway” to fusion energy, research led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) physicists has proven the existence…
Research conducted at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) describes a validation exercise for simple models used to understand hot-spot conditions reached in an implosion, which…
Nature paper chronicles how researchers achieved burning plasma regime for the first time in a laboratory experiment. After decades of fusion research, a burning plasma…
Scientists at LLNL explored the melting and solidification of iron at extreme pressures, aiding in the understanding of exoplanet interiors and their magnetic fields, critical…
Experiments conducted in August achieved a record yield of more than 1.3 megajoules. After decades of inertial confinement fusion research, a record yield of more…
Scientists have examined the performance of pure boron, boron carbide, high-density carbon, and boron nitride ablators — the material that surrounds a fusion fuel and…
On August 8, 2021, an experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) National Ignition Facility (NIF) made a significant step toward ignition, achieving a yield…
Carbon is one of the most ubiquitous elements in existence. As the fourth most abundant element in the universe, a building block for all known…
The first-ever shot to study a high explosive sample was recently conducted at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world’s most energetic laser. The results…
In experiments at the National Ignition Facility, a SLAC-led team found new details about how supernovas boost charged particles to nearly the speed of light….
Probing nucleosynthesis in star-like conditions using the world’s biggest laser at NIF. On a typical day at the world’s biggest laser, the National Ignition Facility…