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Physical and Life Sciences
Physics of particle dispersion may lend insight into reducing the airborne spread of COVID-19 virus
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists are leveraging their extensive experience studying the movement of airborne hazards to better understand the movement of virus-like particles through the air and to identify effective countermeasures. DNATrax released in a conference room.While the burden of airborne diseases is known to be large, its true scope is…
Moving to carbon neutrality: one year later
One year after publishing the groundbreaking "Getting to Neutral: Options for Negative Carbon Emissions in California," Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has become a trusted adviser in the discussion of how to remove carbon dioxide from the air. In the report, LLNL scientists identified a robust suite of technologies to help California clear the last hurdle…
LLNL Weapon Engineers, Biologists Deliver Critical Samples to Identify Skin Proteins Left on IEDs
Following a terrorist bombing, can the bomb maker be identified by skin proteins left on the bomb components they handled? To address this question, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) personnel from Weapons Complex Integration (WCI) and Global Security (GS) Forensic Science and Biosecurity Centers (FSC/BSC) subjected notional bomb components handled by LLNL…
LLNL weapon engineers, biologists deliver critical samples to identify skin proteins left on IEDs
Following a terrorist bombing, can the bomb maker be identified by skin proteins left on the bomb components they handled? To address this question, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) personnel from Weapons Complex Integration (WCI) and Global Security (GS) Forensic Science and Biosecurity Centers (FSC/BSC) subjected notional bomb components handled by LLNL…
Research on transition phenomena to aid in improving safety of explosives
On Aug. 4, 2020, a massive explosion rocked Lebanon’s capital of Beirut, sending shockwaves through the city and shattering windows, reducing some buildings to rubble and killing at least 200 people. Officials have since traced the blast to a stockpile of more than 2,500 tons of confiscated ammonium nitrate stored in a port warehouse. While the official investigation is…
What Hollywood gets wrong, and right, about asteroids
Meet Kirsten Howley, the real-life astrophysicist working to prevent an asteroid “Armageddon” In the 1998 movie “Armageddon,” an asteroid the width of Texas is about to hit Earth. The heroes who stop it in the nick of time are a group of orange-suited Americans, all men. Life isn’t always like the movies. Not that an asteroid couldn’t slam into Earth, mind you. Asteroids —…
Lab team uses giant lasers to compress iron oxide, revealing the secret interior of rocky exoplanets
Advances in astronomical observations have resulted in the discovery of an extraordinary number of extrasolar planets, some of which are believed to have a rocky composition similar to Earth. Learning more about their interior structure could provide important clues about their potential habitability. Led by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), a team of…
Lab researchers explore ‘learn-by-calibration’ approach to deep learning to accurately emulate scientific process
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) computer scientists have developed a new deep learning approach to designing emulators for scientific processes that is more accurate and efficient than existing methods. In a paper published by Nature Communications, an LLNL team describes a “Learn-by-Calibrating” (LbC) method for creating powerful scientific emulators that…
Scientists measure temperature under shock conditions
Temperature is tough to measure, especially in shock compression experiments. A big challenge is having to account for thermal transport — the flow of energy in the form of heat. To better understand this challenge, researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have taken important steps to show that thermal conduction is important and measurable at high…
Lab 3D-prints microbes to enhance biomaterials
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists have developed a new method for 3D printing living microbes in controlled patterns, expanding the potential for using engineered bacteria to recover rare-earth metals, clean wastewater, detect uranium and more. Through a novel technique that uses light and bacteria-infused resin to produce 3D-patterned microbes, the…
Formulating polymers that enhance explosives performance
The design of new explosive and propellant formulations, in compliance with insensitive munitions directives, require that performance be increased, while concurrently increasing stability and safety. Additional requirements include higher density, reduced environmental impact, improved mechanical properties, and extended service life. The combination of high explosives …
Tarver honored with APS shock compression science award
Craig Tarver (MSD) has been honored with the American Physical Society’s (APS’s) 2021 George E. Duvall Shock Compression Science Award for “theoretical advancement of the understanding of shock-driven reactions and detonation in condensed phase explosives.” Since 1968, the award—the highest offered by APS in shock compression science—has biennially recognized contributions…
Thin sample experiments help predict moisture sorption in larger samples
Over time, moisture can change a material’s physical and chemical properties, altering its performance and the performance of other materials in close proximity. This change in performance is especially a concern when considering materials used in the food, packaging, medicine, electronics, and construction industries. Understanding the material moisture capacity and…
Pitz elected fellow of Society of Automotive Engineers
Physicist Bill Pitz (MSD) has been elected as fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Bill studies combustion phenomenon in various types of engines. The fellow grade of membership was established by the society in 1975 to honor and recognize important engineering, scientific, and leadership achievements that enhance the status of SAE’s contributions to the…
Using machine learning techniques to extract nanomaterial information from SEM images
Quantitative analysis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images is important for understanding the structural and morphological variations of nanomaterials. Information obtained from SEM images—such as the particle size, size distribution, and morphology—provide technical and scientific insights into the process of nanomaterial synthesis, fabrication, and manufacturing…
Kim Budil selected as director of Lawrence Livermore
Kim Budil has been named director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Charlene Zettel, chair of Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS), which manages the Laboratory for the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), made the announcement to Laboratory employees Jan. 28. Budil will begin her new role on March 2…
LLNL hydrogen researchers win technical program award
DOE’s Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology Office (HFTO) selected Brandon Wood and Tadashi Ogitsu (both MSD) for the 2020 Technical Program Area Award in Hydrogen Fuel R&D. This award recognizes the computational materials science team at LLNL for their exceptional support to the HydroGEN Advanced Water Splitting Materials and Hydrogen Materials Advanced Research…
NIF experiments probe carbon at record pressures
Carbon is one of the most ubiquitous elements in existence. As the fourth most abundant element in the universe, a building block for all known life and a material that sits in the interior of carbon-rich exoplanets, the element has been subject to intense investigation by scientists. Decades of studies have shown that carbon’s crystal structure has a significant impact on…
Lab teams earn DOE Secretary Achievement Awards
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) employees, participating in 10 project teams, recently earned Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Achievement Awards. Representing some of the highest internal, non-monetary recognition that DOE employees and contractors can receive, these awards recognize DOE employees and contractors for their service and contributions to…
NIF conducts first-ever shot with explosives
The first-ever shot to study a high explosive sample was recently conducted at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), the world’s most energetic laser. The results from the shot included novel data that will help researchers unlock the mysteries of high-explosive (HE) chemistry and position Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to continue its legacy as a leader in…
