Friday, November 20, 2009

Los Alamos Lab tackles surveillance, space protection issues

Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists are evaluating novel approaches to satellite situational awareness, including lowering the cost of space surveillance radars and optically monitoring the growing spread of orbital debris. (Full story)





Time-traveling browsers navigate the web's past

Finding old versions of web pages could become far simpler thanks to a "time-traveling" web browsing technology being pioneered at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.

Another story about the “time-traveling” Web browser also appeared in Popular Science. Read it here!


Using CO2 to extract geothermal energy

As part of developing new energy resources that don't emit carbon dioxide, the DOE is funding 9 trials that use supercritical CO2 to extract more geothermal energy.

The idea started in 2000 at Los Alamos National Laboratory; when physicist Donald Brown thought of pumping geothermal fluid using supercritical CO2 - a pressurized form that is part gas, part liquid; instead of water. (Full story)



HPC Advisory Council announces world's fastest 120Gb/s networking demonstration

The following HPC Council member organizations have contributed and are participating in the 120Gb/s InfiniBand SCinet demonstration: AMD, Avago, Colfax Intl, Dell, HP, IBM, InfiniBand Trade Association, Koi Computers, LSI, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and others. (Full story)


What happens when materials break up?

Because of the Roadrunner supercomputer’s unique capability, scientists are for the first time attempting to create atomic-scale models that describe how voids are created in materials, mostly metals, how they grow, and merge; how the materials may swell or shrink under stress; and how once broken bonds might reattach. . . . (Full story)





Lab gains in community perceptions; results of leaders survey released

Los Alamos National Laboratory has made significant improvements in the all important “favorable impression” category of an annual opinion survey.

The tracking study by Albuquerque-based Research & Polling, Inc. continues an annual program measuring the laboratory’s perceived performance and relationships with the communities of Northern New Mexico.


Also this week in the Los Alamos Monitor:

E
nvironmental work begins in Pueblo Canyon

Los Alamos National Laboratory is beginning to repair a degraded channel in Pueblo Canyon on the northwest side of the White Rock interchange with NM 502. While the work will have some short term impacts, the laboratory expects the job of stabilizing the wetland in the area to have positive results for the long term.



Researchers make hydrogen fuel progress

While previous research has shown that hydrogen can be harvested from ammonia borane for use in a fuel cell, the process leaves behind spent fuel. But researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Alabama have shown that the byproduct can be efficiently converted back into usable fuel through a series of chemical reactions. (Full story)


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