Diamond is more than a dazzling gem — the extremely hard form of carbon makes up the pellet that encases fuel for inertial confinement fusion, and scientists believe it rains down deep inside ice giant planets like Neptune and Uranus. In both cases, the material experiences enormous pressures. Until now, experiments and simulations have disagreed about how it actually behaves under those conditions. In a new study, published in Nature Physics, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) document how diamond melts under pressures three times greater than the conditions at
Fusion EnergyTechnology & Innovation#Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory#High-Energy-Density Science#Laboratory Directed Research and Development#National Ignition Facility and Photon Science#Physical and Life Sciences#Top Story#fusion#plasma physics
Technology & InnovationLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have found that implosions designed for inertial fusion energy (IFE) can tolerate significant imperfections before performance abruptly declines, a finding that could inform the design of fuel targets for future fusion power plants. The findings were detailed in a paper titled "Robustness of inertial fusion energy relevant implosions to low-mode asymmetries," published recently in Physics of Plasmas and selected for the journal's cover. The study was led by LLNL physicist Timothy Johnson, who directed the research and analysis
Fusion Energy#Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory#Energy#High-Energy-Density Science#HPC#Simulation#and Data Science#National Ignition Facility and Photon Science#Top Story
Technology & InnovationLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory called and the signal and image sciences community answered: The Center for Advanced Signal and Image Sciences (CASIS) hosted their 30th annual workshop at the University of California Livermore Collaboration Center (UCLCC) on June 24-25, setting new records for attendance and technical contributions in the workshop's three-decade history. This year's workshop drew 303 registrants, a 35% increase over 2025 and more than double the attendance of just three years ago, along with around 70 talks and 55 posters spanning eight tracks on a parallel agenda
Fusion EnergyTechnology & Innovation#Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory#Advanced Materials and Manufacturing#Engineering#HPC#Simulation#and Data Science#Lasers and Optical S&T#National Ignition Facility and Photon Science
Technology & InnovationLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
A pulsed-power prototype designed and built at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has surpassed 3,000 shots, a milestone researchers say demonstrates the maturity of a new accelerator architecture and marks an important step in evaluating how the technology could be scaled for future national and economic security applications, including fusion energy. The campaign was supported through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Pacific Fusion, a commercial fusion-energy company that is developing related pulsed-power technology as a means of driving inertial fusion
Fusion EnergyParticle Physics#Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory#Energy#Engineering#High-Energy-Density Science#Industry Collaborations#Nuclear deterrence#Top Story#fusion
Technology & InnovationLawrence Livermore National Laboratory
At the bottom of the ocean, optical fibers transmit telecommunications and internet data across the world. Waveguides make that feat possible by channeling and amplifying the light — and therefore the data within — over enormous distances. And the technology goes beyond undersea cables. Waveguiding optics are among the most important advances in photonics since the invention of the laser. They are fundamental to the structure of glass fiber lasers, which are used for high-power national security applications like counter-drone laser systems and missile defense. Now, researchers at
Technology & Innovation#Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory#Advanced Materials and Manufacturing#Defense#Engineering#Lasers and Optical S&T#Top Story#advanced materials#innovation
