A free student science education program pairing LLNL scientists with popular movies.
LLNL Scientist(s)
Derek Mariscal, Dave Schlossberg
Teacher
Tom Shefler, Granada High School
Abstract:
By the time the current generation of high school students reaches age 50, the world’s energy consumption is predicted to increase by 47%.1 Along with exponential growth of population centers, this creates an urgent demand for energy-dense sources; one such source is nuclear fusion, the process that powers stars. This is a mission of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where burning and near-ignition plasmas were recently achieved for the first time on earth.
The NIF is the world’s largest and most energetic laser system and was built to create extreme states of matter – similar to those found in stellar and planetary interiors. Here scientists, engineers, and technicians work on the grand challenge of recreating the engines of stars on earth by harnessing fusion. Successful demonstrations on the NIF are laying the foundation for a future generation of clean, near-limitless energy using inertial confinement fusion. This presentation will overview the fusion science conducted on the NIF; including experiments, simulations, and the application of machine learning to better understand the physics of these highly complex physical phenomena.
Film Summary:
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.