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Physical and Life Sciences
Nuclear waste interaction in the environment may be more complicated than once thought
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and collaborators have proposed a new mechanism by which nuclear waste could spread in the environment. The new findings, which involve researchers at Penn State and Harvard Medical School, have implications for nuclear waste management and environmental chemistry. The research is published in the Journal of the…
What if just one airborne particle was enough to infect you?
For some diseases, exposure to just a single airborne particle containing virus, bacteria or fungi can be infectious. When this happens, understanding and predicting airborne disease spread can be a whole lot easier. That’s the result of a new study by a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientist who developed a new theory of airborne infectious disease spread…
Lawrence Livermore develops promising antidote for nerve agent exposure
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have developed a new, versatile antidote to counteract exposure to nerve agent poisoning. The work, appearing in the journal Scientific Reports, was the result of a highly iterative process built in collaboration between LLNL’s Global Security Directorate, its Forensic Science Center and the U.S. Army Medical…
NARAC at forefront in a post-9/11 world
Editor’s note: The following is part of a series of articles looking back at the Lab's response immediately following the Sept. 11 attacks and our contributions since that day 20 years ago. From keeping Americans safe at national events to assisting with international disasters, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center …
American Meteorological Society to present Zelinka with Henry G. Houghton Award
The Council of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) has selected atmospheric scientist Mark Zelinka of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to receive the Henry G. Houghton Award. Zelinka was cited by AMS for “innovative advances in understanding the critical involvement of clouds to achieve a better understanding of climate interactions.” According to AMS,…
Researchers discover the first nerve-agent antidote that crosses the blood–brain barrier
A team led by LLNL scientists has discovered the first antidote against nerve-agent poisoning that crosses the blood–brain barrier (BBB). Their research, published in Scientific Reports, comes on the heels of a recent resurgence of nerve agents in transnational conflicts. Organophosphorus-based nerve agents (OPNAs)—including sarin, soman, and VX—cross the BBB and are…
Researchers describe new technique to print transparent ceramics
In new research reported in Optics Letters and featured by the journal as an Editors’ Pick, LLNL researchers describe a new technique to print transparent ceramics with extremely fine feature sizes (in the tens of microns) for use as laser-amplification media. This technique is particularly amenable to thin film geometry and enables control of the composition and location…
Lawrence Livermore optics used to spot elusive aurora on Red Planet
The United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Mars mission that launched about a year ago has recently captured the most detailed images of auroras in the Martian sky. The optics used to capture these images include a silicon carbide-coated mirror and diffraction grating for the Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS) that were developed by researchers at Lawrence Livermore…
Climate Change Comes into Focus
Advanced computer models, simulations, and analysis capabilities help scientists zoom in on Earth system processes and improve climate research.
LLNL, other Bay Area labs to host webinar about business partnerships, the future of semiconductors
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and its three partner national labs in the Bay Area Lab Innovation Networking Center (LINC) will offer a webinar about the future of semiconductors and advanced materials on Wednesday, Aug. 25. The two-hour virtual Zoom webinar, called “Over the Horizon” and set to start at noon Pacific time, is primarily targeted at Bay Area…
National Ignition Facility experiment puts researchers at threshold of fusion ignition
On Aug. 8, 2021, an experiment at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL’s) National Ignition Facility (NIF) made a significant step toward ignition, achieving a yield of more than 1.3 megajoules (MJ). This advancement puts researchers at the threshold of fusion ignition, an important goal of the NIF, and opens access to a new experimental regime. The experiment…
Researchers focus on how tantalum behaves at high pressure and temperature
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers have explored high-pressure behavior of shock-compressed tantalum at the Omega Laser Facility at the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE). The work showed tantalum did not follow the predicted phase changes at high pressure and instead maintained the body-centered cubic (BCC) phase until…
Simulating nuclear cloud rise anywhere, anytime
For decades, understanding the behavior of a nuclear mushroom cloud was done with careful analysis of observations made during the testing era. Old photos, outdated film and incomplete weather data made precise calculations difficult. Now, with results published in Atmospheric Environment, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are improving our…
LLNL earn 'A' grade in OPCW biomedical proficiency test
It wasn’t an easy road, but Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Forensic Science Center scientists earned an “A” grade in the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons’ (OPCW) recent biomedical proficiency test. In addition to the usual complexity of the sample preparations and analysis, the Livermore scientists received their proficiency test samples…
IPCC reports climate change is widespread, rapid and intensifying
Scientists are observing changes in the Earth’s climate in every region and across the whole climate system, according to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report, released today. Many of the observed climate changes are unprecedented in thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years, and some of the changes already set in motion — such as…
LLNL's Forensic Science Center earns 'A' grade in OPCW environmental test
This fall, a score of scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Forensic Science Center (FSC) will start two weeks of long days to undertake the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) environmental proficiency test. Livermore scientists have been taking the proficiency tests each October since 2001, with LLNL serving as one of two…
Planetary Research: Exploring Our Past and Future
How could life begin from a swirling chaos? How did Earth and its moon form? What can lunar rocks from the Apollo missions reveal? And what will scientists learn from exploration on distant moons? These questions are addressed in this four-part feature article on Lawrence Livermore’s space science research.
Three Decades of Explosive Innovation
Since Lawrence Livermore’s inception in 1952, Laboratory researchers have been among the nation’s leaders in understanding, synthesizing, formulating, testing, assessing, and modeling the initiation systems and energetic materials (EM) that play an integral role in the U.S. nuclear deterrent, conventional munitions, and homeland security. The Laboratory’s Energetic…
Scientists use radiography to understand the evolution of liquid and solid microjets
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have experimentally tested the predictions of a 2020 study that computationally investigated the effect of melting on shock driven metal microjets. That earlier work predicted that melting the base material does not necessarily lead to a substantial increase in jet mass. The LLNL team confirmed the predictions of…
LLNL and collaborators improve electrochemical reactor performance through 3D printing
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and their collaborators are leveraging the power of 3D printing to improve the performance of electrochemical reactors used to convert carbon dioxide (CO2) to useful energy sources, chemicals and material feedstocks. Working under a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with Stanford University and…
