Virtual Journal of Laser

Laser-driven temperatures and implosion symmetry are close to the requirements for inertial-fusion ignition.

Authors: S. H. Glenzer, B. J. MacGowan, P. Michel, N. B. Meezan, L. J. Suter, S. N. Dixit, J. L. Kline, G. A. Kyrala, D. K. Bradley, D. A. Callahan, E. L. Dewald, L. Divol, E. Dzenitis, M. J. Edwards, A. V. Hamza, C. A. Haynam, D. E. Hinkel, D. H. Kalantar, J. D. Kilkenny, O. L. Landen, J. D. Lindl, S. LePape, J. D. Moody, A. Nikroo, T. Parham, M. B. Schneider, R. P. J. Town, P. Wegner, K. Widmann, P. Whitman, B. K. F. Young, B. Van Wonterghem, L. J. Atherton, E. I. Moses

Laser-driven temperatures and implosion symmetry are close to the requirements for inertial-fusion ignition.

Authors: C. K. Li, F. H. Séguin, J. A. Frenje, M. Rosenberg, R. D. Petrasso, P. A. Amendt, J. A. Koch, O. L. Landen, H. S. Park, H. F. Robey, R. P. J. Town, A. Casner, F. Philippe, R. Betti, J. P. Knauer, D. D. Meyerhofer, C. A. Back, J. D. Kilkenny, A. Nikroo

Fusion power is a step closer with the demonstration of control over the extreme thermal radiation pressure created by high-power laser beams within a cavity.

Author: Peter A. Norreys

A combination of high-resolution laser imaging with improved radiocarbon dating techniques is providing new ways to view earthquake behavior.

Author: Katherine Scharer

In a study published online this week by Science, researchers at the National Ignition Facility, a huge laser for nuclear fusion experiments at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, describe their first experiments using all 192 of the facility's beams on test targets empty of fuel.

Author: Daniel Clery

This year's runners-up for Breakthrough of the Year include new gamma-ray observations, the long-sought receptor for a key plant hormone, mock monopoles, a drug that increases life span, ice on the moon, gene-therapy successes, insights into the properties of graphene and how to use it to make novel devices, Hubble's rebirth, and the first x-ray laser.

Author: The News Staff

A laser that emits lines every 10 gigahertz can be used for frequency calibration in spectroscopy.

Authors: Albrecht Bartels, Dirk Heinecke, Scott A. Diddams

A simple manipulation of the phase of a laser pulse optimizes photoemission efficiency in a complex molecule.

Authors: Daniel G. Kuroda, C. P. Singh, Zhonghua Peng, Valeria D. Kleiman

Laser pulses can be shaped to control energy transfer at the molecular scale in light-harvesting systems.

Author: Victor S. Batista

Renowned for particle physics experiments, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has reinvented itself as a multipurpose lab featuring the world's first x-ray laser.

Author: Adrian Cho