Los Alamos National Laboratory

New Capabilities

Achieved first windowed ignition design with THOR platform

NIF achieved ignition for the 11th time on June 20, 2026, producing 7.9 megajoules from 2.08 megajoules of laser energy. The Department of Energy approved a laser upgrade in April that will push NIF's laser energy from 2.2 to 2.6 megajoules, which would allow the 8.6-megajoule yield record to be broken.

Updated Oct 22

New Capabilities

As of September 2026: Operated the 60-tesla pulsed magnet for the experiments

Electrons in the topological insulator zirconium pentatelluride (ZrTe5) produced quantum oscillations in magnetic fields up to 60 tesla that did not follow the standard 1/B pattern, persisting far beyond where conventional theory says they should vanish.

Updated Sep 7