Wildfires may have bigger role in global warming, study says
Wildfires such as the Yarnell Hill blaze in Arizona may be warming Earth’s atmosphere far more than previously thought, according to a study by Los Alamos National Laboratory. (whole story)
This story also appeared in the Albuquerque Journal, the Cleveland Leader, Red Orbit, Science Daily and many other places
Also appearing this week in the Los Angeles Times:
Solar system's tail is clover-shaped, NASA's IBEX finds
Scientists working on NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer mission have nabbed their first direct glimpse of the so-called heliotail, the long trailing edge of the solar wind. Much to their surprise, three years of data from IBEX, as the Earth-orbiting craft is known, showed that the tail has a sort of clover shape, with separate "lobes" of faster- and slower-moving solar wind.
During the media event, astrophysicist Brenda Dingus of the Los Alamos National Laboratory said that IBEX's findings would help researchers studying cosmic rays. (whole story)
Megafires Are Becoming the New Normal in Hard-Hit Southwestern Forests
If you doubt that climate change is transforming the American landscape, go to Santa Fe, New Mexico. Sweltering temperatures there have broken records this summer, and a seemingly permanent orange haze of smoke hangs in the air from multiple wildfires.
"The majority of forests in the Southwest probably cannot survive in the temperatures that are projected," one of the study's co-authors, Park Williams, a bio-climatologist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, told Environment 360. (whole story)
Solar system has a tail shaped like a four-leaf clover
Lucky us! Our solar system has a tail reminiscent of a four-leaf clover, according to new observations of the plasma bubble that shields the solar system from the rest of the galaxy. The discovery should help us better understand how our star interacts with the Milky Way, including how harmful cosmic rays from interstellar space manage to sneak through the solar system's magnetic barrier.
The heliotail could also be letting cosmic rays in, says Brenda Dingus of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, who is not on the IBEX team. The magnetic field of the heliosphere protects us from the bulk of these galactic high-energy particles. (whole story)
A version of this story also appeared in CNN
Auto industry steel project to boost efficiency, safety
Higher-strength, lighter-weight steels could be coming to a car near you in the near future as part of a U.S. Dept. of Energy (DOE) advanced manufacturing initiative. LosAlamos National Laboratory and Colorado School of Mines (CSM) researchers are lending their expertise to a three-year, $1.2-million project to develop a new class of advanced steels for the automotive industry, materials that will be produced using cleaner manufacturing methods and eliminating the traditional heat-treatment and associated costs and hazards of the process. (whole story)
This story also appeared in Albuquerque Business First
There’s Alien Gas Flowing Through New York City’s Subways
Starting today, New York City authorities will be releasing perfluorocarbon gas into several subway stops, some above and some below ground. Sounds scary, but isn't: perfluorocarbon is a harmless gas, odorless and colorless, and it's being used in the largest airflow experiment ever undertaken.
Perfluorocarbon tracers, or PFTs, are used because they're artificial and do not occur in nature, so a very small amount can be detected fairly easily. The work of detection will be done by a large team from three national labs: the Brookhaven, Argonne, and Los Alamos National Laboratories. About 100 interns in addition to professionals from the labs will be constructing and monitoringsmall black-and-grey boxes in dozens of locations all around the city, all dedicated to checking the air for these tracers. (whole story)
This story also appeared in NBC News
X-ray Imaging, Spacecraft Nuclear Fission and Cosmic Ray Contraband Detection Score R&D 100 Awards
R&D Magazine today announced the winners of its annual “R&D 100” competition, commonly known as the “Oscars of Innovation,” and three technologies from Los Alamos National Laboratory and itspartners are among the honorees. (whole story)
Sandia, LANL recognized in ‘Oscars of innovation’
Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have scored several R&D 100 Awards, known as the “Oscars of innovation.” Annually, R&D Magazine recognizes researchers involved in the year’s 100 most impressive advances. The winners will be recognized in the September issue of R&D Magazine. (whole story)
This story also appeared in the Los Alamos Monitor
Also this week in the Monitor:
LANL Beats Waste Shipping Goals
Los Alamos National Laboratory, which broke its waste shipping records in 2012, has exceeded last year’s mark with three months left to go in fiscal year 2013. During the past nine months, Los Alamos shipped 1,074 cubic meters of transuranic (TRU) andmixed low-level waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and other approvedwaste disposal facilities, exceeding last year’s record of 920 cubic meters. (whole story)
Highly portable X-ray imaging system developed
Los Alamos National Laboratory and Tribogenics have developed the MiniMAX (Miniature, Mobile, Agile, X-ray) camera to provide real-time inspection of sealed containers and facilities.MiniMAX is an alternative to the large, expensive, and fixed facilities presently required for security inspections using X-ray imaging. The complete MiniMAX portable radiography system weighs less than five pounds. (whole story)
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Small, Laser-Beam Box Detects Clandestine Nuclear Materials
More bad news today for bad guys. The scientific brain trust at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has discovered a powerful new method for detecting clandestine nuclear materials.
In February, an international team of researchers used laser-driven neutrons to confirm the presence and quantity of nuclear material inside of a closed container. The experiment is likely to lead to table-top-sized or truck-mounted neutron generators that could be used to catch nuclear smugglers. (full story)
Los Alamos/Tribogenics Create Highly Portable Imaging System
Los Alamos National Laboratory and Tribogenics, the pioneer of innovative X-ray solutions, havepartnered to create a unique, lightweight, compact, low-cost X-ray system that uses the MiniMAX (Miniature, Mobile, Agile, X-ray) camera to provide real-time inspection of sealed containers and facilities. The innovative technology will be featured at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) International Conference on Nuclear Security: Enhancing Global Efforts, July 1-5, in Vienna, Austria. (full story)
This story also appeared in R&D magazine, the Sacramento Bee, Albuquerque Business First, the LA Daily Post, the Los Alamos Monitor and many, many more
LANL investigates the properties of a novel cellulose structure
Improved methods for breaking down cellulose nanofibers are central to cost-effective biofuel production and the subject of new research from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center. Scientists are investigating the unique properties of crystalline cellulose nanofibers to develop novel chemical pretreatments and designer enzymes for biofuel production from cellulosic—or non-food—plant derived biomass. (full story)
This story also appeared in Daily Fusion and Lab Manager
HPC geeks ponder 100 petafloppers and quantum supercomputers
The next big barrier for supercomputing is punching through 100 petaflops peak performance, which frankly could be done in a heartbeat if someone had a few hundred millions dollars lying around. And now that Google and NASA are monkeying around with a quantum computer, thoughts are turning to how a QC might be deployed to replace some of the work done by traditional supercomputer clusters.
And, as it turns out, the RFP for NERSC-8 will also include a second system called "Trinity" that is expected to be installed at Los Alamos National Laboratory to help manage the US government's stockpile of nuclear weapons. The exact floppage of Trinity has not been divulged, but this is a winner-take-all deal and it looks like Trinity will be about twice the size of NERSC-8. So that should be in the range of 200 petaflops. (full story)
Electric automakers address battery anxiety
Ever wish you had a clone or a replacement to handle those more anxiety-riddled moments in life? The electric car industry is building off that premise by offering replacement batteries to solve the biggest issue car buyers have in considering electric vehicles: range anxiety.
Earlier this month, it was reported that researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory discovered a way to manufacture low cost electric vehicle batteries, which at upwards of $10,000, are the single largest cost of an electric vehicle. (full story)
Bragging rights: A Gates scholar and kudos from Capitol Hill
In light of 2013 being the 10th anniversary of the state Legislature designating UNM-Taos a branch of the state’s flagship university, we have already seen some events worthy of celebration, or at least a little bragging.
After several years of setting aside funds, resources are being applied to student amenities such as indoor social and study areas, outdoor seating in the Pueblo Hall patio, and what will likely be one of the safest outdoor camera monitoring systems in the county, covering the bulk of the Klauer Campus.
The University of New Mexico-Taos campus is a prime example of the public and private sectors working together to employ cleaner energy. Their campus is home to one of the largest solar arrays in the state — a project that was successful thanks to a partnership with Los Alamos National Labs and Kit Carson Electric Cooperative. (full story)
The Terrible Chemistry of New Mexico’s Latest Fires
As I read Ray Monk’s new biography of Robert Oppenheimer, which I reviewed for the forthcoming issue of the New York Times Book Review, the parts that affected me most deeply were about northern New Mexico. I’d long known the story of Oppenheimer and Los Alamos, the secret atomic city he presided over in the Jemez Mountains. (full story)
LANL taking steps to remediate chromium plume
Los Alamos National Laboratory environmental program experts are one step closer to determining the best way to remediate a chromium plume in groundwater beneath Mortandad Canyon. Members of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and laboratory environmental cleanup offices began pumping tests last week at the well known as R-42. The well is east of the lab’s Technical Area 55. These tests are the first key steps directed at addressing the chromium contamination. (full story)
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A long-sought phase transition in superconducting cuprates
Data set shows superconductivity pseudogap.
It's been more than a quarter century since the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in a class of copper oxide compounds, and the materials still harbor many secrets.
Postdoc Arkady Shekhter, Albert Migliori, and colleagues at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Los Alamos National Laboratory measured the temperature-dependent elastic stiffness of two cuprate crystals. (Full Story)
Less is more: Novel cellulose structure requires fewer enzymes to process biomass to fuel
Anenzyme (blue) pulls out individual cellulose chains (pink) from the pretreated nanofiber surface (green). GLBRC image
Improved methods for breaking down cellulose nanofibers are central to cost-effective biofuel production and the subject of new research from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC).
Scientists are investigating the unique properties of crystalline cellulose nanofibers to develop novel chemical pretreatments and designer enzymes for biofuel production from cellulosic—or non-food—plant derived biomass. (Full Story)
Megadrought in U.S. Southwest: A bad omen for forests globally
Scorched trees from the 2011 Las Conchas fire in New Mexico. USGS photo.
Park Williams, a young bioclimatologist and postdoctoral fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory, has teamed up with other specialists at the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Arizona to wring new insight from the data set spanning the years 1000 to 2007. Driving recently into the Jemez Mountains near his office, we pass rust-red pines, dead or dying from drought. Later, kneeling next to a freshly cut stump, he points to a ring near the bark. “That thick ring right there is probably 1998,” he says, a wetter El Niño year. (Full Story)
Quantum cryptography promises un-hackable industrial communications
Quantum Key Device. LANL image.
No rules, regulations, or standards can guarantee protection if someone out there has the technology and know how to hack your system. That’s why a quantum cryptograph project at Los Alamos National Laboratory is so intriguing.
Headed by co-principal investigators Richard J. Hughes and Jane E. Nordholt, the QC team has developed a system they call network-centric quantum communications (NQC) because it uses quantum cryptography for key management using optical networks—specifically, fiber-optic cable. (Full Story)
Los Alamos has app to celebrate its history
The Los Alamos National Laboratory’s has created a free app to provide the public a way of celebrating the facility’s 70th anniversary. It is currently available through iTunes for iPhones and iPads.
We’re excited to be a part of the 70th anniversary of Los Alamos’ service to the nation,” said Associate Director for Information Technology Carolyn Zerkle in a statement. (Full Story)
Coalition presses D.C. for dollars
The Regional Coalition of LANL Communities announced today that it is leading a 13-member delegation to Washington, D.C. to push for more cleanup funding for Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The group will meet with members of the New Mexico Congressional Delegation, as well as top officials at the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Administration to press for increased federal funding to continue environmental remediation across northern New Mexico. (Full Story)
Our view: Science matters for New Mexico
Senator Martin Heinrich.
In Northern New Mexico, we understand how important federal spending is through Los Alamos National Laboratory. Budget cuts — especially the unwise ones from the automatic spending reductions caused by the so-called sequester — are damaging New Mexico’s economy and our scientific progress.
But it’s not just about economic stability, the spending on science can make a difference to our world — particularly, as Sen. Martin Heinrich pointed out in his first speech last week in the Senate, in developing the United States’ energy independence. (Full Story)
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Metamaterial flexible sheets from LANL could transform optics
The LANL metamaterials team include, from left, Nathaniel K. Grady, Hou-Tong Chen, and Jane E. Heyes. LANL photo.
Research from a team of Los AlamosNational Laboratory (LANL) scientists is leading to ultrathin, planar, lightweight, and broadband polarimetric photonic devices and polarimetric optics that would boost security screening systems, infrared thermal cameras, energy harvesting, and radar systems.
The research, titled "Terahertz Metamaterials for Linear Polarization Conversion and Anomalous Refraction," was published online May 16 in Science Express, and aims to replace bulky conventional optics with flexible metamaterial sheets that are about the thickness of a human hair. (Full Story)
Story also appeared in R&D Magazine
Muon scattering at the Fukushima nuclear reactors
Muon radiograph. From Physics Today.
A team from Los Alamos National Laboratory hopes to hasten the dismantlement and remediation efforts by remotely imaging the damaged reactor cores with atmospheric muons produced by cosmic rays.
The particles' penetrating power would produce an x-ray-like image that includes shadows from the denser regions. But because muons are strongly scattered by uranium and other heavy elements, the researchers plan to use their recently developed method that tracks both incident and transmitted particles using two muon detectors, fore and aft of the building. (Full Story)
Small, laser-beam box detects clandestine nuclear materials
Laser energy 50 times greater than the worldwide output of electrical power slams into a target to produce neutrons at the TRIDENT facility. LANL photo.
More bad news today for bad guys. The scientific brain trust at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has discovered a powerful new method for detecting clandestine nuclear materials.
In February, an international team of researchers used laser-driven neutrons to confirm the presence and quantity of nuclear material inside of a closed container. The experiment is likely to lead to table-top-sized or truck-mounted neutron generators that could be used to catch nuclear smugglers. (Full Story)
Team shows first nuclear material detection by laser-driven neutrons
Focal point of the TRIDENT target chamber. LANL photo.
Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have successfully demonstrated for the first time that laser-generated neutrons can be enlisted as a useful tool in the War on Terror.
The international research team in February used the short-pulse laser at Los Alamos's TRIDENT facility to generate a neutron beam with novel characteristics that interrogated a closed container to confirm the presence and quantity of nuclear material inside. (Full Story)
Meet the scientists on YouTube
Story also appeared in Homeland Security Newswire
Carbon nanotube catalyst could jumpstart e-cars, green energy
A high-resolution microscopic image of a new type of catalyst. LANL image.
Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have designed a new type of nanostructured-carbon-based catalyst that could pave the way for reliable, economical next-generation batteries and alkaline fuel cells, providing for practical use of wind- and solar-powered electricity, as well as enhanced hybrid electric vehicles.
The new catalyst doesn’t use precious metals such as platinum, which is more expensive per ounce than gold, yet it performs under certain conditions as effectively as many well-known and prohibitively expensive precious-metal catalysts developed for battery and fuel-cell use. (Full Story)
Story also appeared in Science Daily
Citizen Science: Aurorasaurus
Aurora as seen from the International Space Station. NASA image.
The project’s aim is to create a highly accurate, easy-to-use real-time map of confirmed aurora sightings. The idea is that this will increase your chances of seeing the rare beautiful northern lights during the maximum of the solar cycle (2012-2014).
Backed by Los Alamos National Laboratory, the project aims to build a predictive capability for the lights' visibility based on citizen scientists’ positive and negative sightings and through social media. (Full Story)
Laws of physics say quantum cryptography is unhackable
The beam splitter in a quantum cryptography unit from the EU’s Integrated Project Qubit Applications. From Wired.
“In this case, it doesn’t matter what technology the adversary has, they’ll never be able to break the laws of physics,” said physicist Richard Hughes of Los Alamos National Laboratory, who works on quantum cryptography.
Hughes points out that quantum cryptography offers many advantages. In a smart grid – a power grid in which information on usage is used to improve efficiency – it is important that the various control centers understand exactly what the electricity is doing in different areas. (Full Story)
N.M. at forefront of super-fast cytometers
University of New Mexico scientists have created a way to immensely accelerate the processing power of flow-through cytometers, or cell meters, which are used worldwide to screen tissue samples for clinical research.
Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories have a long history in developing cytometers. The field grew out of post-World War II research into the effects of radiation on biological organisms. (Full Story)
Stanford partners with museum to host medieval manuscripts online
Manuscript depicting a church, circa 1400. From the Walters Art Museum.
Stanford University Libraries has partnered with the Walters Art Museum, a public museum in Baltimore, Md., to offer more than 100,000 high-resolution images of medieval manuscripts stored at the museum online.
The partnership between Stanford University and the Walters Art Museum began after Robert Sanderson, an information scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory with an interest in digital humanities. (Full Story)
LANL launches anniversary app
Los Alamos National Laboratory has launched its first app for iPhones and iPads as part of the laboratory’s yearlong celebration of 70 years serving the nation. The free application is available from the Apple Store.
The app enables users to learn more about the Laboratory’s national security mission, cutting edge research, unique history, top-flight scientists and the many other people who work at the lab. It also provides easy access to news, feature stories, publications, social media and videos. (Full Story)
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