Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Fusion Science
In the sun and other stars, hydrogen and helium nuclei are continually fusing and in the process, releasing enormous amounts of energy. 
The immense gravitational pressures that occur naturally in the centers of stars provide the necessary conditions for fusion.
Ever since its founding in the early 1950's, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has been working on ways to capture the energy of the stars for use here on Earth, using both magnetic fusion and inertial confinement fusion (ICF) (see How to Make a Star). The Fusion Energy Program within LLNL's Physical Sciences Directorate continues to conduct research on a variety of approaches to both magnetic fusion and ICF; while at the National Ignition Facility, the focus is on laser-driven ICF. Immediately after the laser was invented in 1960, Livermore scientists saw the possibility of using convergent beams of light to ignite a fusion micro-explosion. Since then, Livermore researchers have led the world in pursuing the goal of achieving controlled thermonuclear burn in the laboratory using laser light.
Inside the target chamber, NIF's lasers will produce pressures reaching 100 billion atmospheres and temperatures of 100 million Kelvin, conditions that exist naturally only in the centers of stars or in nuclear weapons. 
With this unique capability, researchers can study high energy density physics for stockpile stewardship, basic science and inertial fusion energy (IFE) in a controlled laboratory setting.
NIF's experimental capabilities are essential for providing a full understanding of the operation of modern nuclear weapons; NIF is thus an essential component of the nation's stockpile assessment and certification strategy (see Stockpile Stewardship). NIF's high-pressure and high-temperature fusion experiments will also be important for research in astrophysics, hydrodynamics, material science, plasma physics and other areas of basic science (see Science at the Extremes).
Theory and experimental evidence suggest that with NIF, conditions are finally right for achieving fusion burn and energy gain, producing more energy than the amount required for ignition (see Inertial Fusion Energy). Concurrent with the construction of NIF, Livermore scientists are also pursuing related approaches to IFE that could lead to commercially viable fusion power plants within the next few decades (see LIFE).
More Information
"Experiment Mimics Natures's Way with Plasmas," Science & Technology Review, December 1999
"New Targets for Inertial Fusion," Science & Technology Review, November 2001
"Simulating Turbulence in Magnetic Fusion Plasmas," Science & Technology Review, January/February 2002
