At Los Alamos, working against their own creation

America's first atomic bomb was made at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and for decades the work there centered on designing nuclear weapons.

But quietly, for years, some at Los Alamos have puzzled over ways to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

That work is all the more important in the wake of last week's nuclear summit in Washington, D.C., where nearly 50 nations pledged to do more to safeguard dangerous nuclear materials on their territory.

This is not exactly a swords-into-ploughshares story, but it comes close. (Full story)


The best and the brightest—innovators in the energy labs: commercializing research

Sometimes there’s a gap between research conducted at Los Alamos National Laboratory and what’s needed to turn that research into commercial technology. Bart Raeymaekers’ job is to fill that gap.

As the lab’s first entrepreneurial postdoctoral fellow, Raeymaekers has a two-year appointment that integrates postdoctoral research with commercialization endeavors.

The program aims to respond to a national trend among students in graduate science programs to look beyond the conventional career tracks for science Ph.D.s. (Full story)


Swift satellite catches its 500th gamma ray burst

In its first five years in orbit, NASA's Swift satellite [using an instrument designed by LANL] has given astronomers more than they could have hoped for. Its discoveries range from a nearby nascent supernova to a blast so far away that it happened when our universe was only 5 percent of its present age.

…Burst 500, officially known as GRB 100413B, exploded in constellation Cassiopeia as a long burst, a type usually associated with the death of a massive star. GRB 100413B came to light when David Palmer, an astrophysicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, … analyzed the data. (Full story)


Observatory sees 500th deep-space explosion
‘Remarkable milestone’ for space-based satellite orbiting Earth

NASA's Swift observatory, keeping watch for the most powerful explosions in the universe, has hit a major milestone after spotting its 500th cosmic detonation in deep space. (Full story)


A look at homemade explosives school that benefits U.S. troops



For troops on today’s battlefield, recognizing improvised homemade bombs can save lives.

At a Los Alamos National Laboratory bomb squad test range--and in a classroom--troops learn the differences between harmless substances and deadly explosives. (Watch it!)


Final contracts awarded
Two small businesses will demolish Cold War-era complex

Los Alamos National Laboratory announced Tuesday that it has awarded its final two demolition contracts under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

The two winning bidders will each demolish a portion of the remaining unused buildings at the Lab’s historic Technical Area 21.

…Bruce Schappell, executive director of LANL’s Recovery Act cleanup efforts, said the Lab has “a real commitment to small businesses” for this work. (Full story)


Management matters: energy smarts

The digital explosion in the federal government during the last decade has led to efficiency, innovation, and perhaps most apparent to those paying the power bills, data center sprawl. Now the Obama administration is trying not only to streamline operations and lower costs, but to cut energy consumption as well.

…Perhaps the greatest energy-saving potential is in virtualization, a technology that partitions one physical server into multiple virtual servers to maximize capacity….

The Los Alamos National Laboratory virtualized 300 servers and retired three data centers, avoiding $1.4 million in hardware, software, facility and energy costs…. (Full story)


NNSA marks Earth Day by highlighting role in climate modeling, commitment to energy efficiency

As the nation commemorates the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) today launched a new feature on its Web site that highlights the role NNSA's national laboratories play in climate modeling and NNSA's efforts to improve energy efficiency across the nuclear security enterprise. . . .

At Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Climate, Ocean and Sea Ice Modeling Project is using advanced supercomputing to model changes in sea levels. (Full story)


LANL PCBs no threat to Rio Grande drinking water

The New Mexico Environment Department has concluded pollution in the Rio Grande coming from Los Alamos National Laboratory [is] …not a threat to Albuquerque’s drinking water supply. (Full story)

To subscribe to Los Alamos Report, please send an email and include the words subscribe los alamosreport in the body of your email message; to unscubscribe, include unsubscribe losalamosreport.

Please visit us at www.lanl.gov

US nuclear policy could
boost basic research

LANL’s William Rees. LANL photo.

William Rees, who manages non-proliferation programmes as principal associate director for Global Security at Los Alamos National Laboratory, says that the lab needs to ensure a broad scientific base as an entry point for new recruits.

Initially, these researchers might start work at the lab in its non-weapons programmes, such as projects in studying greenhouse-gas emissions and seismology. Some of those may then move into the weapons programme. (Full Story)



Black hole twins
spew gravitational waves

Gravitational waves are like ripples in the fabric of space–time. Physics World illustration.

A team of researchers, led by Chris Belczynski of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, report that these projects have taken the wrong option, saying that double black hole systems may be far more common than previously thought. The reason is related to stars' metallicity, which is the fraction of elements that are heavier than helium. (Full Story)




New study shows possibilities and dangers of nanotechnology

Los Alamos National Laboratory toxicologist Jun Gao, a co-author in the study, works in his laboratory. LANL photo.

Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico originally set out to study the interactions of carbon fullerenes -- soccer-ball shaped molecules more commonly known as "buckyballs" -- and cell membranes, said Rashi Iyer, a toxicologist at Los Alamos and principal research lead on the study, which was recently published in the journal Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. (Full Story)





Optimal Dynamic Detection system detects nitroglycerin-based bombs

Los Alamos National Laboratory researcher Shawn McGrane adjusts the gas content for the shaped laser system to create visible light. LANL photo.

Los Alamos National Laboratory and Princeton University researchers have successfully demonstrated the functioning of the Optical Dynamic Detection (ODD) system that can detect chemical explosives like nitroglycerin in a package.

The ODD project was initiated during the 2008 summer when these researchers discussed the proof of ODD concept with the Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) of the Homeland Security. (Full Story)




Pentagon turns to 'softer' sciences
US defence research to focus more on biology, cybersecurity and social sciences to help win conflicts.

Farmers work on a poppy field in Helmand province in April. Reuters photo.

The Pentagon's director of defence research and engineering is ramping up funding in social-science projects, including a model developed by Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to simulate the opium trade in Afghanistan and analyse the effectiveness of efforts to combat it. (Full Story)




5 companies making fuel
from algae now

Algae biofuel research at Colorado State University in partnership with Solix and LANL. CSU photo.

Solix is also collaborating with the Los Alamos National Laboratory to use its acoustic-focusing technology to concentrate algal cells into a dense mixture by blasting them with sound waves.

Oil can then be extracted from the mixture by squeezing it out; this makes the extraction process much easier and cheaper, obviating the need for chemical solvents. (Full Story)




Nuvera lands $8.4m in federal funding

The Chevrolet Equinox fuel cell vehicle. GM photo.

Nuvera Fuel Cells is getting $8.4 million from the federal energy department. The money will help fund two projects - valued at $11.1 million. Nuvera has partnered with the Los Alamos National Laboratory, as well as the Argonne National Laboratory, on its first project, called SPIRE. That project will look how fuel cells degrade in an attempt to improve their durability. (Full Story)




Giant natural particle accelerator
above thunderclouds

Lightning sprite image from Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratories.

The trick to determining the height of one of the natural particle accelerators is to use the radio waves emitted by the particle beam, explains Dr. Martin Fullekrug. These radio waves were predicted by his co-worker Dr. Robert Roussel-Dupré using computer simulations at the Los Alamos National Laboratory supercomputer facility. (Full Story)



To subscribe to Los Alamos Report, please e-mail listmanager@lanl.gov and include the words subscribe los alamosreport in the body of your email message; to unscubscribe, include unsubscribe losalamosreport.

Please visit us at www.lanl.gov

For nuclear reactors, metals that heal themselves

A nuclear reactor is a tough place for metals. All those neutrons bouncing around wreak havoc with the crystalline structure of steel, tungsten and other metals used in fuel rods and other parts. Over time, the metals can swell and become brittle.

Now researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico have shown that by altering the microstructure of metals, metallurgists may be able to make reactor parts that are self healing. (full story)


Preparing for possible killer asteroid

If we ever need to use Los Alamos scientist Cathy Plesko's research, we're in nail-biting trouble. But at that moment we're likely to be very glad she did it. Plesko is trying to figure out how to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth.

"You hope you never need it, but you know, you hope you never need car insurance," said the 29-year-old researcher. (full story—requires subscription or advertisement view)



New technologies may help rescue more miners

Several manufacturers are working on low-frequency transmissions, one of the more advanced is "through-the-earth radio" technology being developed by Vital Alert Communications Inc. of Toronto and its U.S. subsidiary, Vital Alert Technologies of Cleveland. Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico developed the technology. (full story)



Shooting stars can shoot down satellites
We don't know enough about meteoroids

By Sigrid Close - I have worked with Bill Cooke at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and with researchers at the Air Force’s Office of Scientific Research throughout my career, first while I conducted studies at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and later at Los Alamos National Laboratory, where my team searched for ground-based electromagnetic pulses using LANL’s radio frequency sensors, and now as an assistant professor at Stanford University. (full story)






New study shows possibilities and dangers of nanotechnology

A tiny change in a tiny particle can mean the difference between treatment and toxicity, federal researchers found in the first observations of its kind.

Researchers at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico originally set out to study the interactions of carbon fullerenes – soccer-ball shaped molecules more commonly known as “buckyballs” – and cell membranes, said Rashi Iyer, a toxicologist at Los Alamos and principal research lead on the study, which was recently published in the journal Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology. As research progressed, she said that she and her colleagues began to observe an unexpected reaction that could either be dangerous or desirable. (full story)


Plutonium lab key part of updated nuke policy

A multibillion-dollar new plutonium lab in Los Alamos and money for the nuclear weapons scientists who would use it are centerpieces of the Pentagon's updated national nuclear weapons policy, unveiled Tuesday.

Replacement of old Cold War nuclear weapons design and manufacturing buildings, and a focus on human talent at U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories, which include Sandia and Los Alamos in New Mexico, are critical pieces to maintaining our long-term nuclear deterrent, Defense Secretary Robert Gates told reporters during a televised Pentagon briefing. (full story—requires subscription or view of advertising)


Assistance program helps 320 businesses

The New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program will honor nine companies Thursday for outstanding achievements. The companies participated in the program last year. The program is a partnership of Sandia National Laboratories, Los Alamos National Laboratory and the state of New Mexico. (full story)

To subscribe to Los Alamos Report, please send an email and include the words subscribe los alamosreport in the body of your email message; to unscubscribe, include unsubscribe losalamosreport.

Please visit us at lanl.gov

Tiny buckyballs could put fast-spreading cancer cells into suspended animation

A basic buckyball structure. PopSci illustration.

Toxicologists at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico exposed human skin cells to several types of buckyballs.

One tris configuration of buckyballs had three molecular branches coming off the main structural body in one hemisphere, a hexa configuration had six branches arranged in a symmetrical pattern, and the last was a plain buckyball. (Full Story)





Guard troops learn to spot bombs

A handful of New Mexico National Guard troops learned some new techniques to detect the factories and labs where crude bombs are created.

Bomb experts at the Los Alamos National Laboratory led the training.

Lab bomb techs place a homemade explosive device on their range to show troops the real danger of roadside attacks. (Full Story)





With a bang

Experts detonate an EFP — explosively formed projectile — during a class for members of the New Mexico National Guard on Wednesday. The training was held at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Photo by Eddie Moore.

In the past year more than 200 soldier-students have attended this crash course in explosives. The intention is to familiarize them with the materials enemies could use to make bombs. Lecture-style instructional periods are a large part of their day, as LANL personnel with PhD's explain what chemicals or materials to watch for in "the theater." (Full Story)




LANL says state hazardous waste permit risks explosives training

N.M. National Guard troops examine how a small homemade explosive charge can penetrate two inches of solid steel. LANL photo.

LANL says that training will be impacted if the New Mexico Environment Department prohibits open burning in the hazardous waste permit the lab has applied for from the state. (Full Story)





Self-repairing materials within nuclear reactors may one day become a reality

The blue glow of a reactor core, called Cherenkov radiation, is light emitted by electrons from the reactor that travel faster than the speed of light in water. LANL photo.

Self-repairing materials within nuclear reactors may one day become a reality as a result of research by Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists.

In a paper appearing today in the journal Science, Los Alamos researchers report a surprising mechanism that allows nanocrystalline materials to heal themselves after suffering radiation-induced damage. (Full Story)



Someday, a way to 'see' nuclear, chemical threats

David Thompson, a physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory who is monitoring the project, declined to say much about how such a device would be used. But he is impressed by the Drexel-Optra effort thus far - while cautioning that it is still in the early stages. "It's an ingenious technique," Thompson says. (Full Story)



Cray awarded $45M from DOE for new super[computer]

Cray just announced that the US Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Agency has awarded it a $45M contract for a new super to be installed at Los Alamos National Lab. (Full Story)





Cray gets $45 million supercomputer contract

Cray Inc said it signed a contract worth more than $45 million to supply the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) with a next-generation supercomputer.

The new system will create a new supercomputing platform, named Cielo, for the advanced simulation and computing program at the NNSA, Cray said. (Full Story)




Pint-size reactors face long process

Before it can revolutionize power production and bring clean energy to the third world, Hyperion Power's hot-tub-sized nuclear reactor must navigate a complicated, multiyear regulatory process. (Full Story)


To subscribe to Los Alamos Report, please e-mail listmanager@lanl.gov and include the words subscribe los alamosreport in the body of your email message; to unscubscribe, include unsubscribe losalamosreport.

Please visit us at www.lanl.gov