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Physical and Life Sciences
Betatron X Rays Bring Focus to a Very Small, Very Fast World
A Livermore team led by Félicie Albert, along with researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, has produced x-ray pulses with all the characteristics users desire, with the added benefit of being generated on a system the size of a large tabletop.
Four Lawrence Livermore researchers named 2013 APS Fellows
LIVERMORE, Calif. - Four Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have been selected as 2013 fellows of the American Physical Society (APS). Physicist Charles Cerjan was cited by the Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics for "seminal contributions to time-dependent Schrodinger equation propagation algorithms and their application to particle scattering…
High-pressure studies of rare earth material could lead to lighter, cheaper magnets
Sometimes you have to apply a little pressure to get magnetic materials to reveal their secrets. By placing a permanent magnet under high pressures, Lawrence Livermore researchers are exploring how atomic structure enhances magnetic strength and resistance to demagnetization. This fundamental research into magnetic behavior has important implications for engineering…
Lawrence Livermore Radiochemist Ken Moody named AAAS fellow
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Ken Moody has been awarded the distinction of fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers to recognize distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. This year, AAAS awarded 388 members with this honor…
Change in Pacific nitrogen content tied to climate change
Using deep sea corals gathered near the Hawaiian Islands, a Lawrence Livermore scientist, in collaboration with UC Santa Cruz colleagues, has determined that a long-term shift in nitrogen content in the Pacific Ocean has occurred as a result of climate change. Overall nitrogen fixation in the North Pacific Ocean has increased by about 20 percent since the mid 1800s -- a…
Turning unwanted carbon dioxide into electricity
SAN FRANCISCO - Researchers are developing a new kind of geothermal power plant that will lock away unwanted carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) underground and use it as a tool to boost electric power generation by at least 10 times compared to conventional geothermal power. The technology for this design already exists in different industries, and the researchers, led by Tom Buscheck…
Smashing science: Livermore scientists discover how explosives respond to shockwaves
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have combined ultrafast time-resolved experimental measurements with theory to reveal how an explosive responds to a high-impact shock.The work involved advances in both ultrafast experimental shock wave methods and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation techniques, and the combination of experiment and simulation is a…
Blast from the past
That supernova, caused from the cataclysmic death of a star, could have even triggered the birth of the sun.Most of the mass in the universe is from light elements like hydrogen and helium. The heavier elements that make up planets are produced inside stars or created when they explode as supernovae. But according to researchers, it is unclear how such events may have…
X-ray imaging of biomolecules technology awarded $25 million
This is the first Science and Technology Center grant UB has received. With the grant, UB and its partner institutions will establish the Biology with X-ray Free Electron Lasers (BioXFEL) research center, headquartered in Buffalo. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a partner institution of the BioXFEL center.The BioXFEL (pronounced bio-x-fell) center will…
Two Lawrence Livermore researchers named 2013 APS fellows
LIVERMORE, Calif. -- Two Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory scientists have been selected as 2013 fellows of the American Physical Society (APS).John Moody, acting group leader for hohlraum energetics/optical diagnostics in the Inertial Confinement Fusion Program, was cited in the plasma physics category for "pioneering experiments contributing to understanding…
LLNL wins four tech transfer regional awards
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has again received recognition this year for its work to move breakthrough technologies into the commercial marketplace.Livermore researchers and tech transfer professionals garnered four awards in the Federal Laboratory Consortium's (FLC) Far West Regional competition.This year's awards, presented last week during the FLC's…
First results from LUX world's most sensitive dark matter detector
LEAD, S.D. - After its first run of more than three months, operating a mile underground in the Black Hills of South Dakota, a new experiment named LUX has proven itself the most sensitive dark matter detector in the world."LUX is blazing the path to illuminate the nature of dark matter," says Brown University physicist Rick Gaitskell, co-spokesperson for LUX with…
Bio celebrates 50th Anniversary
Over the last 50 years, scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory's (LLNL) Biosciences and Biotechnology Division (BBTD) have changed the world by being instrumental researchers on the Human Genome Project, developing high-tech devices to sort cells and analyze DNA and providing the science for federal programs to defend the nation from biological weapons…
U.S. scientists celebrate Nobel Prize for Higgs discovery
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize in physics today to theorists Peter Higgs and Francois Englert to recognize their work developing the theory of what is now known as the Higgs field, which gives elementary particles mass.U.S. scientists, including researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), played a significant role in…
LLNL scientists pioneer the use of established technology for analyzing uranium ore concentrate samples
A team of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers has pioneered the use of a long-standing technology for a new application -- analyzing the chemical composition of uranium samples.In a paper published as the cover story in the September edition of Applied Spectroscopy , the Laboratory scientists describe the first reported use of near-infrared…
HPC's potential to transform bioscience explored at conference
The latest generation of high performance computers has the potential to transform the biomedical field in ways unthinkable just a few years ago.That was the theme that emerged from the "Current Challenges in Computing 2013: Biomedical Research" conference, or CCubed, held earlier this month in Napa. Sponsored by IBM with support from the Laboratory, the meeting brought…
Physicist Jim Hammer receives prestigious Edward Teller Award
Jim Hammer, a physicist in the Weapons and Complex Integration Directorate (WCI) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is a recipient of the 2013 Edward Teller Medal.The Fusion Energy Division of the American Nuclear Society (ANS) presented the award recently during the International Inertial Fusion Science Applications (IFSA) conference in Nara, Japan. Hammer was…
LLNL hosts plasma physics summer school
Three students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) participated in a two-week plasma physics summer school at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). The course, "Introduction to the Analysis of Spectra from High-Temperature Plasmas," was a concentrated introduction to the study of astrophysical plasmas, magnetic fusion plasmas and laser…
It's a shock: Life on Earth may have come from out of this world
A group of international scientists including a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researcher have confirmed that life really could have come from out of this world.The team shock compressed an icy mixture, similar to what is found in comets, which then created a number of amino acids - the building blocks of life. The research appears in advanced online publication…
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore, Florida company plan to demonstrate bioenergy technology
Researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Florida-based Chemergy Inc. plan to demonstrate an innovative bioenergy technology that converts wastewater treatment plant byproducts into hydrogen gas to produce electricity. The $1.75 million project will demonstrate an integrated system on a limited industrial scale at the Delta Diablo Sanitation…
