What If they try to hack Amazon’s drones?
David Mascarenas, right, works with a student on a quad copter. LANL image.
For now, the threats are being addressed incrementally. Georgia Tech, for example, has been conducting studies into autonomous vision-based navigation, while the Los Alamos National Laboratory wants to make robot movement less predictable.
“The advantage of acting unpredictably is that people who might want to exploit the robot cannot as easily anticipate where the robot might go next,” says Los Alamos National Laboratory research engineer David Mascarenas. (Full Story)
Nontoxic quantum dot research improves solar cells
Hunter McDaniel is developing next-generation quantum dots. LANL image.
Solar cells made with low-cost, nontoxic copper-based quantum dots can achieve unprecedented longevity and efficiency, according to a study by Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sharp Corp.
“For the first time, we have certified the performance of a quantum dot sensitized solar cell at greater than 5%, which is among the highest reported for any quantum dot solar cell,” said Hunter McDaniel, a Los Alamos postdoctoral researcher and the lead author. (Full Story)
This spooky X-ray ‘hand’ demonstrates a pulsar star mystery
This X-ray nebula appears to look like a human hand. NASA image.
That spooky hand in the image above is producing questions for scientists. While the shape only coincidentally looks like a human hand, scientists are still trying to figure out how a small star produced such a large shape visible in X-rays.
“Scientists are intrigued by what exactly powers these massive explosions, and understanding this would yield important insights about the fundamental forces in nature,” stated Peter Moller, of Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Full Story)
LANL begins shipments to Idaho
First MTRU shipment. LANL photo.
Los Alamos National Laboratory has made the first of its 18 shipments of transuranic (TRU) waste to the Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project at Idaho National Laboratory.
“Known as MTRU, or mixed transuranic waste, the material requires special handling because it consists mostly of large, metal equipment with sharp edges. By using equipment and technology available at the Idaho site, this waste can be remotely repackaged safely and efficiently with far fewer hazards for workers.” (Full Story)
Bradbury Science Museum turns 50
“For 50 years, the Bradbury Science Museum’s mission has been to foster enthusiasm and support for science and engineering, and a better understanding of the mission and work of the Laboratory.”
The museum was originally founded in 1954 by Robert Krohn, but was classified a museum when it first opened. In 1963, Robert Porton convinced then Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory Director Norris Bradbury to open the unclassified museum. (Full Story)
New associate directors named at LANL
Mary Hockaday and Cheryl Cabbil.
Los Alamos National Laboratory has announced that Mary Hockaday will be its new AD of the Experimental Physical Sciences Directorate while Cheryl Cabbil will be AD for Nuclear and High Hazard Operations.
“Mary is a 30-year veteran of the Lab and currently serves in a joint role as the deputy associate director for the Weapons Physics and Cheryl brings a distinguished track record for developing and implementing nuclear facility management programs," said Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan. (Full Story)
Also appearing this week in Albuquerque Business First
Lab scientists can be entrepreneurs, too
Steve Yarbro’s eureka moment wasn’t that he figured out how to separate thick, heavy oil. It was discovering that he could start a company to do that while maintaining his career at Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Full Story)
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Dangerous or harmless? New technology could alter airport security rules on liquids
AP Photo.
The Los Alamos National Laboratory has announced what it called a breakthrough for screening liquids at airport security, though it could be years before the technology is potentially installed at a checkpoint near you.
Called MagRay, the system uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and X-rays to quickly analyze whether a bottle’s contents are safe or dangerous. (Full Story)
Watch a machine tell the difference between soda and liquid explosives
Since 2006, to protect against the threat of those explosives, people traveling by air in America have been limited to one quart-sized bag for liquids, each in a container no larger than 3.4 ounces.
A new device being developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory could eventually make the scanning process less painful. Called the MagRay, it's designed to scan liquids and quietly differentiate between the safe and unsafe. And now Los Alamos has released a video showing off the tech. (Full Story)
This story also appeared in the Santa Fe New Mexican, Homeland Security Newswire, and the Los Alamos Monitor.
Black hole birth captured by cosmic voyeurs
Tom Vestrand and the RAPTOR telescope. LANL photo.
Intelligent telescopes designed by Los Alamos National Laboratory got a front row seat recently for an unusual birth.
"Los Alamos' RAPTOR telescopes in New Mexico and Hawaii received a very bright cosmic birth announcement for a black hole on April 27," said astrophysicist Tom Vestrand, lead author of a paper appearing today in the journal Science that highlights the unusual event. (Full Story)
Zap! NASA's Curiosity rover fires 100,000th laser shot on Mars
ChemCam zaps another Martian rock. NASA illustration.
NASA's trigger-happy Curiosity rover has fired its 100,000th laser shot on Mars, a science milestone in its mission to determine what rocks on the Red Planet are made of.
Roger Wiens, a planetary scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and principal investigator for ChemCam, said the laser-firing instrument has exceeded expectations. (Full Story)
Martian laser surpasses 100,000 zaps
The 100,000th shot. NASA image.
The ChemCam laser instrument aboard NASA’s Curiosity rover fired its 100,000th shot recently, chronicling its adventures on Mars with a coffee-table-book’s worth of spectral data that might rival snapshots gathered during a long and satisfying family vacation here on Earth. ChemCam zaps rocks with a high-powered laser to determine their composition and carries a camera that can survey the Martian landscape. (Full Story)
New neutrino cooling theory changes understanding of stars’ surface
Neutron star. LANL image.
Massive X-ray superbursts near the surface of neutron stars are providing a unique window into the operation of fundamental forces of nature under extreme conditions.
“Scientists are intrigued by what exactly powers these massive explosions, and understanding this would yield important insights about the fundamental forces in nature, especially on the astronomical/cosmological scale,” said Peter Moller of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Theoretical Division. (Full Story)
Obituary: Stirling Colgate
Stirling A. Colgate , Astrophysicist, 88, died Sunday of a long illness. 1n 1975 he went to work at LANL, where he continued to work until his death. He was also a member of the National Academy of Science.
He was born in New York City and attended Los Alamos Ranch School (1939-1942). He was also a member of the Merchant Marine Armed Services 1943-1946. He married Rosie in 1947 and obtained his PhD. from Cornell University in 1951. (Full Story)
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