Science

Santa Fe Institute: Preventing Extreme Polarization Of Political Attitudes

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Stephanie Forrest

Santa Fe Institute News:

Encouraging interactions between people on opposite ends of the political spectrum may not be the best way to foster tolerance in a polarized nation.

In fact, a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests extreme polarization can be avoided when two sides of a stubbornly intolerant population have low exposure to each other.

SFI External Professor Stephanie Forrest, a computer scientist at Arizona State University, and coauthors Joshua Daymude, a postdoctoral researcher at ASU, and Robert Axelrod, a professor of Read More

UNM Scientists Find Climate-Driven Tree Mortality And Fuel Aridity Increase Wildfire Fuel Availability

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In the Sierra National Forest, an estimated 36 million trees have died from drought and bark beetle mortality over the past five years. This is approximately 25 percent of the trees in the Sierra National Forest. CourtesyUNM

UNM News:

New research conducted by scientists at The University of New Mexico (UNM) suggests climate-driven tree mortality and fuel aridity are increasing fuel availability in forests leading to record-breaking wildfires in size, spread and plume formation.

In North America, wildfire activity has been increasing in large part due to climate change, which is increasing Read More

AFRL And Northrop Grumman Demonstrate Solar To Radio Frequency Conversion

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Project Managers James Winter (AFRL) and Tara Theret (Northrop Grumman) hold models of the photovoltaic and radio frequency sides of the sandwich tile, while at the Linthicum, Maryland facility, to witness the conversion and beaming experiment. Courtesy/Northrop Grumman

AFRL and Northrop Grumman attendees gather behind an industrial-grade opaque tarp to shield them from the intense light of the solar simulator used in the Solar-to-Radio Frequency demo at Northrop Grumman facilities and view RF output data from the sandwich tile. Courtesy/Northrop Grumman

AFRL News:

KIRTLAND AFB Read More

Tsunamis Magnetic Fields Detectable Before Sea Level Change

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The aftermath of a 2010 tsunami in Chile, which was analyzed in a new study in JGR Solid Earth. Earlier warnings made possible by the study of tsunami-generated magnetic fields could better prepare coastal areas for impending disasters. Courtesy/International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

AGU News:

WASHINGTON — A new study finds the magnetic field generated by a tsunami can be detected a few minutes earlier than changes in sea level and could improve warnings of these giant waves.

Tsunamis generate magnetic fields as they move conductive seawater through the Earth’s Read More

LANL: B61-12 Bomb Reaches Major Milestone

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If the B61-12 is ever used, it will be ballistically air delivered in either gravity or guided drop modes. It is being certified for delivery by current strategic and dual-capable aircraft, as well as future aircraft platforms. Here, a U.S. Air Force F-35 Lightning performs a drop test of a B61-12. Courtesy/DOD F-35 Joint Program Office

LANL News:

  • Los Alamos National Laboratory played critical role in delivery of first production unit

A major milestone has been achieved with the recent delivery of the first production unit (FPU) of the B61-12, meaning the refurbished bomb is on track for full-scale Read More

DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration Nuclear Nonproliferation Annual Report Delivered To Congress

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NNSA News:

WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) released Prevent, Counter, and Respond—NNSA’s Plan to Reduce Global Nuclear Threats (NPCR) FY 2022-2026.

This annual report highlights some of today’s most pressing nuclear and radiological challenges and how DOE/NNSA provides cross-cutting capabilities to help:

  • Prevent adversaries from acquiring nuclear weapons or weapons-usable materials, technology, and expertise;
  • Counter efforts to acquire such weapons or materials; and
  • Respond to nuclear and radiological incidents
Read More

Sneezes, Rain Clouds & Ink Jets: NIST Improves Ability Of Optical Microscopes To Measure Volume Of Microdroplets

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Microscopy of microdroplet volume and nanoplastic concentration. Courtesy/K. Dill/NIST

NIST News:

Sneezes, rain clouds, and ink jet printers: They all produce or contain liquid droplets so tiny it would take several billion of them to fill a liter bottle.

Measuring the volume, motion and contents of microscopic droplets is important for studying how airborne viruses spread (including those that cause COVID-19), how clouds reflect sunlight to cool the Earth, how ink jet printers create finely detailed patterns, and even how a soda bottle fragments into nanoscale plastic particles that Read More

LANL’s Roger Wiens To Become Purdue University Professor

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It’s official – planetary scientist and Fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory Roger Wiens and his wife Gwen Wiens will relocate in February to Lafayette, Ind., where Roger will be a professor at Purdue University. ‘After 25 great years in New Mexico we’re sad to leave, but are excited to begin this new chapter.’ Courtesy/FB Image Read More

AGU: High-Speed Impacts May Have Shaped Venus History

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An example of a smoothed particle hydrodynamics impact simulation of a large planetesimal striking a Venus-like planet. The middle and right panels show Venus 1 hour and 11 hours after impact. Colors indicate temperature. Courtesy/Southwest Research Institute/Simone Marchi & Raluca Rufu

AGU News:

NEW ORLEANS — New modeling suggests large, high-speed impacts during Venus’ early history could reconcile the differences between Venus and its rocky sister planet, Earth.

The two planets are alike in many ways. They have similar sizes, masses and densities, and they are relatively similar Read More

NIST: With Fuzzy Nanoparticles, Researchers Reveal Way To Design Tougher Ballistic Materials

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Researchers at NIST examined the toughness of films composed of silica nanoparticles coated in polymer chains using Laser-Induced Projectile Impact Testing, or LIPIT. With LIPIT, they propelled tiny projectiles toward the films and used a camera and strobe light to capture their position every 100 nanoseconds. The amount that the projectiles slowed down after piercing the films revealed the material’s toughness. Courtesy/NIST

NIST News:

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and Columbia Engineering have discovered a new method to improve Read More