Veil of Secrecy is Lifted from Parts of Livermore’s Laser Fusion Program

Researchers from Japan, Germany and elsewhere are finally getting a more detailed look at the results of experiments on inertial confinement fusion done at the Nova facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, site of the most powerful laser devoted to fusion research. Although Livermore scientists have reported on their progress in general terms over the years, significant aspects of their experiments and models remained classified because the information had potential relevance to nuclear weapons as well as to the development of a commercial energy source. But a Department of Energy spokesperson told us that the department decided last December to declassify portions of the program as part of Secretary Hazel O’Leary’s “openness initiative.” The announcement of the declassification noted that researchers in other countries were publishing their own work, which in many cases duplicated results developed earlier in the US but never made public because of classification restrictions.

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