It’s true that the majority of the work done there is in support of Department of Defense and Department of Energy programs. But contrary to what one might imagine, the scientists there are work that goes on there isn't ALL about figuring out how to protect the U.S. from Communism. The scientists here are chemists, physicists and engineers who are delving into everything from warhead electrical systems to enhanced mammography.

We’re led into the "firing chamber" to meet our explosives guy, Jon Maienschein, who has promised to blow something up for us. I’m excited. It’s hard to make a bad TV segment when an explosion is involved. If you watch television, you will see that many shows live and die by that rule. Maienshein is surprisingly mild-mannered for a guy who blows things up for a living. After interviewing him for about 30 minutes on camera, we finally had a very basic understanding of what’s happening during a detonation.

There are several different kinds of explosions: chemical, natural, mechanical and nuclear, electrical, astronomical, etc. The most common "artificial" explosives are chemical usually involving a violent, rapid oxidation reaction. The fine folks at LLNL demonstrated just such and explosion for us then gave us the super-cool, ultra-slow-motion footage that they shoot in order to study what actually goes on inside an explosion.

We see or hear about explosions practically every day on TV, the movies and in the news, most people have no idea what an explosion really is. What’s happening on the chemical and molecular level? And how do the people who know about explosives actually study explosions? And why is it necessary to understand this stuff? The whole thing is surprisingly complex.

Watch the Inside an Explosion television story online.

Inside the National Ignition Facility.

So in a nutshell, what is fusion? And how do lasers work? Why are you asking me? I was the kid who always struggled with math and would get hives on the eve of a high school science test.

Luckily, there are some darn good teachers out there and we were fortunate enough to feature one of them in our story. Richard Muller is a professor of physics at the University of California and has also become something of a web phenomenon. Thousands of "students" all over the world have viewed his lecture series titled "Physics for Future Presidents" on YouTube and Cal's own website.

Muller designed this class to "stress conceptual understanding rather than math, with applications to current events." As he told us, "imagine looking out on your classroom and picturing out there is the future president of the United States. What do you want that person to know?" What comes out is an explanation of the physics of energy, nuclear weapons, radioactivity, relativity and the universe– all explained in a way that the physics-challenged, like myself or maybe a future president, can understand.

Watch the "Super Laser at the National Ignition Facility" TV Story online, as well as find additional links and resources.

Chris Bauer is a Segment Producer for television on QUEST.

Scientist Alex Gash prepares the "frozen smoke."

So when I conceived this Aerogel segment, I had a cooking show in mind. I imagined the mad scientist, standing at his bench in requisite white lab coat and safety glasses, Bunsen burner bubbling away. And the big reveal at the end, pulling a perfectly-formed cylinder of Aerogel from the supercritical extractor. Well, it turns out that the process of making Aerogel isn't terribly visual. Essentially, there's a lot of clear liquid being added to clear liquid. Which becomes clear gel. Then it's put into a machine and it comes out Aerogel.

So, it's a good thing that our chemist, Alex Gash, was a rock star. He was such a good sport, saying the same thing over and over in just slightly different ways without a single complaint. And even though he works with Aerogel (Sol Gel chemistry) every day, it still seemed like he was pretty excited about it.

So, while it's not exactly a cooking show, we hope that our little segment piques your interest to find out more about how Aerogel is made as well as its really interesting applications. Maybe you can even print out the recipe and make it at home.

Watch the "QUEST Lab: Aerogel" TV Story online, as well as find additional links and resources.


Amy Miller is a Coordinating Producer for television on QUEST.

You may listen to the "Super Laser" radio report online, as well as find additional links and resources. Also don't miss our behind-the-scenes photos for this report.

Amy Standen is a Reporter for QUEST and Radio News at KQED-FM.

latitude: 37.6871, longitude: -121.697