Jan 2020
A sensor made with a swiftly revolving nanoparticle can detect minute torques
The fastest-spinning object ever made could help spot quantum friction in a vacuum
Sep 2023
The results could help scientists understand the complex flows of water and air on Earth
A laser gyroscope measured tiny variations in the lengths of days on Earth
Feb 2019
The new technique is the first of its kind that’s safe to use around humans
Lasers could send messages right to a listener’s ear
Oct 2023
Attosecond bursts of laser light let researchers glimpse electron dynamics in matter
Technique to see the ultrafast world of electrons wins 2023 physics Nobel
Feb 2023
Since 2010, scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) in California have sought to harness fusion, a physical process that releases energy from nuclear reactions. Nuclear fusion is the natural process that powers the Sun and other stars. Initially discovered in the 1930s, physicists have attempted to harness this process for controlled energy production ever since. Until recently, those attempts failed because more energy was required to power the reaction than was produced. However, on December 5, 2022, NIF scientists reported the first fusion reaction in a laboratory setting that produced more energy than the laser energy required to power the reaction. While there are still many hurdles to overcome, researchers are cautiously optimistic that this breakthrough could eventually lead to carbon-free fusion power plants that would aid in the fight against global climate change. In the meantime, the findings will advance NIF's research goal of helping assess the reliability and safety of the United States' nuclear weapons stockpile. See also: Energy; Global climate change; Nuclear fusion
First nuclear fusion ignition event produced in a laboratory
Sep 2019
An exploding fireball is a difficult phenomenon to examine given its fleeting, rapidly evolving, and hazardous nature. A specific type of laser is now offering researchers a new way to study explosions, though, at safe distances and with the attendant sensitivity needed to capture sudden changes in temperature, pressure, and chemical concentrations. The hope is that probing explosions in this manner will aid in better controlling them for technological applications, as well as designing protective shielding from explosives. See also: Explosive; Explosive forming; Laser; Pressure; Temperature; Thermodynamic principles
Probing fireballs with lasers to better understand explosions