Creating a Star in the Laboratory: The National Ignition Facility

Presenter Full Name
Dr. Richard N. Boyd
Institution
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Year & Semester
2010 Spring
Presentation Date
March 29, 2010

Dr. Richard N. Boyd of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, will discuss the National Ignition Facility. Completed in 2009, it is the world’s largest laser. NIF plans to encourage programs in basic research, with nuclear astrophysics being part of that program. This presentation will describe the basic operation of NIF, as well as the motivation for and some details of several nuclear astrophysics experiments that might be conducted at NIF. Finally Dr. Boyd will discuss how NIF might impact the world’s energy future. [Available on DVD in the SSU library.]