Latest Laboratory for Laser Energetics Stories
Technologies for using laser energy to destroy threats at a distance have been in development for many years. Today, these technologies -- known as directed energy weapons -- are maturing to the point of becoming deployable.High-energy lasers -- one type of directed energy weapon -- can be mounted on aircraft to deliver a large amount of energy to a far-away target at the speed of light, resulting in structural and incendiary damage. These lasers can be powerful enough to destroy cruise...
A giant laser -- the size of three football fields -- is being used by scientists at a government lab in California to possibly set off a nuclear reaction so intense that it will make a star bloom on the surface of the Earth, according to a recent CNN report. The scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory want to create a sun on the ground that seems like a science fiction fantasy straight from Hollywood. But the experiment is for real, and the National Ignition Facility will be...
SALEM, N.H. and LAS VEGAS, March 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Laser Light Engines (LLE), a developer and manufacturer of ultra-high brightness, laser-driven light sources, announced today at ShoWest that it has demonstrated the first laser light source to completely eliminate laser "speckle," reaching the level of performance required for exhibition of artifact-free, laser images suitable for Digital 2D and 3D movies. This breakthrough industry development paves the way for commercialization of...
OAKLAND, Calif., March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- A major intellectual property jury trial, involving the theft of trade secret information and the breach of Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA), is set to start on Monday, March 15, 2010. The trial is in Hayward, California, Department 512, Judge John True, III. Plaintiff Victor Kley, who is the sole owner of General Nanotechnology and Metadigm (the other plaintiffs), approached Lawrence Livermore Lab in the Spring of 2004 with a unique idea to assist...
Most people know that diamond is one of the hardest solids on Earth, so strong that it can easily cut through glass and steel.Surprisingly, very little is known about the strength of diamond at extreme conditions. But new research by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists shows that diamond becomes even stronger during rapid compression.Using the Janus laser at LLNL and the Omega laser at the University of Rochester, Livermore scientists and Rochester and UC Berkeley colleagues...
Scientists demonstrate strong laser radiation-matter coupling with intense 2.1kJ, 15ps laser pulses critical for creating and diagnosing advanced fusion plasmasA new generation of high-energy (>kJ) petawatt (HEPW) lasers is being constructed worldwide to study high intensity laser matter interactions, including fast ignition. Fast ignition is a laser-based technique for heating and igniting deuterium and tritium fuel to fusion temperatures in a two-step process. In the first phase, laser...
Critical to understanding inertial confinement fusionFor years scientists have struggled with the difficult physics of inertial confinement fusion. This is the attempt to compress a target capsule containing isotopes of hydrogen with high-powered lasers to high enough pressure and temperature to initiate fusion burn.To achieve fusion scientists must put as much laser energy on target as possible, a task complicated by energy loss due to laser backscatter, or reflection. Fusion is the basic...
Owners of an upstate New York human-potential retreat center's new building say it may become the world's first living building. The $3.5 million Omega Center for Sustainable Living at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies in Rhinebeck, N.Y., goes way beyond green, Omega said. The one-story, 6,250-square-foot building, inaugurated Thursday, takes a whole systems approach and uses integrative design, Omega Chief Executive Officer Skip Backus said. Right now, most people think of 'green' as...
On Friday, a U.S. weapons lab unveiled a super laser with the power to burn as hot as a star.The National Ignition Facility's main purpose for the tool is to gauge the reliability and safety of the U.S. nuclear-weapons arsenal, but scientists say it could deliver breakthroughs in safe fusion power."We have invented the world's largest laser system," actor-turned-governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said during a dedication ceremony attended by thousands including state and national officials."We...
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger Friday dedicated the world's largest laser system in Livermore, calling it a gateway to new energy sources. The sprawling National Ignition Facility at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory east of San Francisco has been 12 years in the making and is designed to further research into fusion energy. NIF has the potential to revolutionize our energy system -- teaching us a new way to harness the energy of the sun to power our cars and homes,...
