This volume of the LLE Review, covering the period July--September 1997, begins with a general introduction to LLE`s experimental physics program and a report on recent results. This article includes a useful summary of the system`s operational capabilities and system parameters. Other highlights of the wide variety of research presented in this issue are: a promising method to directly observe the cold compressed shell of an imploding target. The shell is normally observed by backlighting. The proposal described here is to use a high-Z dopant that fluoresces under radiation from the hot core in the K{alpha} line. A study of the instabilities associated with near-forward stimulated Brillouin scattering. It includes a calculation of the saturation times and steady-state gain exponents. A successful program of pulse shaping for the OMEGA laser system. Examples of a variety of pulse shapes that can be programmed are presented. A description of the angular-scattering characteristics of ferroelectric liquid crystal electro-optical devices operating in transient and extended scattering modes. The possibility of applying these devices as modulators in practical IR imaging systems is evaluated. A faster method of shaping and finishing IR materials by the use of magnetorheological fluids. Detailed specifications and test results are included. …

This issue has the following articles: (1) The Omega Laser Facility Users Group Workshop; (2) The Effect of Condensates and Inner Coatings on the Performance of Vacuum Hohlraum Targets; (3) Zirconia-Coated-Carbonyl-Iron-Particle-Based Magnetorheological Fluid for Polishing Optical Glasses and Ceramics; (4) All-Fiber Optical Magnetic Field Sensor Based on Faraday Rotation in Highly Terbium Doped Fiber; (5) Femtosecond Optical Pump-Probe Characterization of High-Pressure-Grown Al{sub 0.86}Ga{sub 0.14}N Single Crystals; (6) LLE's Summer High School Research Program; (7) Laser Facility Report; and (8) National Laser Users Facility and External Users Programs.