(AGENPARL) – Fri 25 April 2025 A weekly compendium of media reports on science and technology achievements
at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Though the Laboratory reviews
items for overall accuracy, the reporting organizations are responsible for
the content in the links below.
LLNL Report, April 25, 2025
NIF beamlines entering the lower hemisphere of the target chamber. (Photo:
Damien Jemison)
Leading the ignition club
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fusion-energy-needs-continued-u-s-leadership-to-secure-our-energy-future/
Fusion energy stands as a beacon of hope in a world beset by rising energy
demands, extreme weather and energy security challenges. The same process
that powers the sun, fusion would provide abundant, safe, clean and reliable
energy. The winner of the fusion race will win a secure energy future for
humanity.
In fusion, two light nuclei combine to form a single larger one, while
converting excess mass into a tremendous amount of energy. The U.S. has led
the way in fusion research and development since World War II, when amid a
cold war weapons race, scientists first pursued safely harnessing this
energy. In 2022 scientists at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) became the first to demonstrate
fusion “ignition” in a laboratory—generating more energy out of a
fusion reaction than the laser energy fired onto the experiment.
This monumental result established the fundamental scientific feasibility of
fusion as an energy source.. As the only country in the “ignition club,”
the U.S. must build on this success to assure its leadership in fusion to
lead the world’s energy economy into the 22nd century.
Read More
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fusion-energy-needs-continued-u-s-leadership-to-secure-our-energy-future/
A model of an asteroid as it is impacted. Ejected pieces breaking away from
the asteroid help further nudge it away from an Earthbound course.
A last resort for asteroid defense
One day, in the near or far future, an asteroid about the length of a
football stadium will find itself on a collision course with Earth. If we are
lucky, it will land in the middle of the vast ocean, creating a good-size but
innocuous tsunami, or in an uninhabited patch of desert. But if it has a city
in its crosshairs, one of the worst natural disasters in modern times will
unfold.
Fortunately for all 8 billion of us, planetary defense—the science of
preventing asteroid impacts—is a highly active field of research.
In the US, there are groups of scientists who “recognize that we have a
special responsibility as a spacefaring nation and as a nuclear-­capable
nation to look at this,” says Megan Bruck Syal, a physicist and planetary
defense researcher at Lawrence Livermore. “It isn’t our preference to use
a nuclear explosive, of course. But we are still looking at it, in case
it’s needed.”
Read More
The flow and dispersion of hazardous material in an urban area predicted by
LLNL’s Aeolus model. (Credit: Gowardhan, 2012)
Elaborate bunkers not required
https://www.ft.com/content/f2ff9ff0-e529-4560-a922-0a64618d90b0
The End, Joshua Oppenheimer’s new film starring Tilda Swinton, is set
entirely in a bunker after an environmental catastrophe. It is no ordinary
bunker: it is a salt mine turned underground ultra-luxe fortress that
features an art gallery, library and indoor pool. The film might seem wild
(the actors also break into song), but in some aspects, it rings true.
Bunkers and “prepper” culture has long been established in the US, with
several companies building vast developments in former missile silos hundreds
of feet underground.
But in such an event, “any sturdy building provides protection”, says
Michael Dillon, an atmospheric scientist at Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory, California, who has created a model on how to survive a nuclear
attack. “Basements and central rooms are best.” Elaborate shelters are
unnecessary. “It doesn’t matter what the material is, the same mass of
concrete, steel, earth or wood works equally well.” After 12-24 hours,
radiation levels should be “low enough that most people can safely leave
their building”.
Read More https://www.ft.com/content/f2ff9ff0-e529-4560-a922-0a64618d90b0
Researchers from LLNL and Verne install a vacuum pressure gauge on the
system. (Credit: Verne)
Keep cool and compress on
https://www.independentnews.com/news/livermore_news/new-hydrogen-technology-cuts-fuel-cost-dramatically/article_8729f273-502c-455b-89d4-14a9352a08cc.html
Last month, San Francisco-based startup Verne, in partnership with Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), shared details of a project that showed
how cooling and compressing hydrogen at the same time — called
cryo-compression — could produce high-density hydrogen at about half the
cost of current liquid-hydrogen production methods by avoiding the phase
change from gas to liquid.
The demonstration, conducted at -314 degrees Fahrenheit and 350 times
atmospheric pressure, produced densities greater than 60 grams per liter. It
was completed at LLNL’s cryogenic hydrogen fueling facility with assistance
from LLNL engineers.
While capable of storing high amounts of energy, gaseous hydrogen takes up a
lot of space compared to other fuels, such as diesel. On the other hand,
liquid hydrogen uses up to 700 times less space than gaseous hydrogen but is
expensive to produce.
Read More
https://www.independentnews.com/news/livermore_news/new-hydrogen-technology-cuts-fuel-cost-dramatically/article_8729f273-502c-455b-89d4-14a9352a08cc.html
Concept art showing an inertial fusion energy power plant of the future.
(Credit: Eric Smith)
Seizing the moment for fusion
Fusion, the process that powers the stars, is a limitless, clean, safe and
sustainable energy source. Mastering it on Earth would create a shift from
energy scarcity to energy abundance, unlocking breakthroughs in
transportation, manufacturing and clean water access while enabling reliable
electricity worldwide and innovative environmental solutions once deemed
unfeasible. 
This is the promise of fusion, and the U.S. must seize the moment.
Like previous technology revolutions, such as the rise of semiconductors, the
successful commercialization of fusion energy would represent one of the most
profound advances in human history. Fusion would create a trillion-dollar
industry requiring a highly skilled workforce, new infrastructure and diverse
supply chains. Estimates suggest commercial fusion could increase global GDP
by $68 trillion. Moreover, fusion will provide long-term energy security,
shielding the U.S. from hostile nations weaponizing energy resources.
Read More
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