The National Ignition Facility (NIF), at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), is the world’s largest laser. NIF houses 192 beams delivering >1.8 MJ of UV energy and peak powers of 500 TW to a small target (<< cm3). Depositing this energy in a small volume creates extreme radiation environments and large pressures that have been used to create unique conditions for studying matter at high energy densities. High energy density (HED) matter is defined as having pressures > 1,000,000 atm. Understanding the behavior of matter at high energy densities is important for our national security, many astrophysical questions, and obtaining inertial confinement fusion ignition. In this talk, I will provide an overview of the NIF and some of the technology that enables it, discuss progress in HED science and inertial confinement fusion, and talk about the challenges and opportunities for future research.

The seminar will be web-simulcast; here is the login information:
Link: https://mipse.my.webex.com/mipse.my/j.php?MTID=mec31878d50d0ea5598153b66381dd52a
Password: MIPSE
Meeting number: 627 439 388