Just returned from an incredible experience at the US Ignition Facility in Livermore, CA, where I was commissioned by Nature magazine to capture a story about a groundbreaking nuclear fusion reaction that produced more energy than it consumed—a true milestone in science.
Annie Kritcher, a physicist at NIF, led the experimental campaign that finally achieved ignition.
I spent an entire day with a team of physicists and engineers, photographing the cutting-edge laboratories where these remarkable experiments unfold.
Physicists Omar Hurricane (left) and Richard Town (right) sit in the control room at NIF.
Read full article: https://www.nature.com/immersive/d41586-024-03745-z/index.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=nature&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1732701290
NIF’s laser beams converge on a target called a hohlraum, which is held in place by a pair of silicon arms. Suspended inside the hohlraum is a diamond-coated capsule holding a frozen pellet of hydrogen isotopes.
This fabrication facility at NIF is a ‘clean room’ where researchers prepare the target, including the hohlraum and the frozen pellet of hydrogen isotopes.