Sept. 7, 2022

 







 

 

 

 

 

 

 



# This giant laser can simulate a planet’s core

 

 



 [     Opens in a new window ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://lmf.llnl.gov/markdownify/node/13227&title=This%20giant%20laser%20can%20simulate%20a%20planet%E2%80%99s%20core "Share to Facebook") [     Opens in a new window ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=This%20giant%20laser%20can%20simulate%20a%20planet%E2%80%99s%20core+https://lmf.llnl.gov/markdownify/node/13227 "Share to X") [   ](mailto:?subject=This%20giant%20laser%20can%20simulate%20a%20planet%E2%80%99s%20core&body=https://lmf.llnl.gov/markdownify/node/13227 "Share by email") [     Opens in a new window ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://lmf.llnl.gov/markdownify/node/13227 "Share to LinkedIn") [    ](javascript:window.print() "Print") 

 

 



 [     Opens in a new window ](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https://lmf.llnl.gov/markdownify/node/13227&title=This%20giant%20laser%20can%20simulate%20a%20planet%E2%80%99s%20core "Share to Facebook") [     Opens in a new window ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=This%20giant%20laser%20can%20simulate%20a%20planet%E2%80%99s%20core+https://lmf.llnl.gov/markdownify/node/13227 "Share to X") [   ](mailto:?subject=This%20giant%20laser%20can%20simulate%20a%20planet%E2%80%99s%20core&body=https://lmf.llnl.gov/markdownify/node/13227 "Share by email") [     Opens in a new window ](https://www.linkedin.com/sharing/share-offsite/?url=https://lmf.llnl.gov/markdownify/node/13227 "Share to LinkedIn") [    ](javascript:window.print() "Print") 

 

 

 

By Adam Cole





 

 



As astronomers search for life outside our solar system, they have to try and answer one big question: What’s the recipe for a habitable planet? We tend to think about the ingredients we encounter every day: liquid water, the protective blanket of the atmosphere, a sun that is neither too warm nor too hot. But there are other factors that are probably equally important: Earth’s cooled and hardened crust, its gooey molten guts, its magnetic field, its volcanoes and deep sea vents. These are the features that fostered life as we know it, and they were shaped by unseen processes hidden deep within the globe. [ Read more...](https://www.vox.com/videos/23323391/giant-laser-life-other-planets-video)[ ](https://www.vox.com/videos/23323391/giant-laser-life-other-planets-video)



Tags:[Lasers](/tags/lasers)/[NIF Operations](/tags/nif-operations)



 

 



 

**By Adam Cole**











 

 



## Featured Articles

 

 ![Clockwise from top left, Oscar Herrera, Tammy Ma, Sam Schrauth, and Ted Laurence.](/sites/lmf/files/styles/medium/public/2026-09/Ext_OpticaSPIE_1200x800_0.jpg?itok=Hp5y4bXO)

 

[LLNL Researchers Recognized as Senior Members of Optics and Photonics Societies](/news/llnl-researchers-recognized-senior-members-optics-photonics-societies)



 ![August 2026 Cover of Physics of Plasmas](/sites/lmf/files/styles/medium/public/2026-09/August%202026%20POP%20Cover%20SRS.jpg?itok=lwwqVS5a)

 

[LLNL Researchers Improve Predictive Modeling of Laser Backscatter](/index%2Ephp/news/llnl-researchers-improve-predictive-modeling-laser-backscatter)



 ![LLNL Laser Safety Officers Hayden Johnson, Jamie King, Karla Armstrong, and Brandon Morioka](/sites/lmf/files/styles/medium/public/2026-07/Laser%20Safety%20Training%20Room%200012.jpg?itok=3ureJT1s)

 

[LLNL Opens New Hands-On Laser Safety Training Facility](/news/llnl-opens-new-hands-laser-safety-training-facility)