Science

NIST Team Builds Hybrid Quantum System By Entangling Molecule With Atom

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NIST physicist James Chin-wen Chou adjusts one of the laser beams used to manipulate an atom and a molecule in experiments that could help build hybrid quantum information systems. Courtesy/J. Burrus/NIST

NIST News:

Physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have boosted their control of the fundamental properties of molecules at the quantum level by linking or “entangling” an electrically charged atom and an electrically charged molecule, showcasing a way to build hybrid quantum information systems that could manipulate, store and transmit different Read More

Smithsonian Science Education Center With World Health Organization Support Launches COVID-19 Guide For Youth

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Smithsonian News:

The Smithsonian Science Education Center, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP)—a partnership of 140 national academies of science, engineering and medicine—has developed “COVID-19! How can I protect myself and others?,” a new rapid-response guide for youth ages 8–17.

The guide, which is based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, aims to help young people understand the science and social science of COVID-19 as well as help them take actions to keep themselves, their families and communities safe.

Through Read More

AGU: How Climate Killed Great Barrier Reef Corals In 2016

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The final toll: more than half the coral in some parts of the Great Barrier Reef died in 2016. Courtesy/AGU

AGU News:

A squad of climate-related factors is responsible for the massive Australian coral bleaching event of 2016. If we’re counting culprits: it’s two by sea, one by land.

First, El Niño brought warmer water to the Coral Sea in 2016, threatening Australia’s Great Barrier Reef’s corals. Long-term global warming meant even more heat in the region, according to a new study. And in a final blow that year, a terrestrial heatwave swept over the coast, blanketing the reef system well into the Read More

NIST Study Published Today Measures Performance Accuracy Of Contactless Fingerprint Scanning Technologies

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NIST evaluated several commercially available contactless fingerprint scanning technologies in its May 2020 report. Courtesy/N. Hanacek/NIST

NIST News:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has evaluated several commercially available contactless fingerprint scanning technologies, allowing users to compare their performance to conventional devices that require physical contact between a person’s fingers and the scanner.

The results of the study, published today as NIST Interagency Report (NISTIR) 8307: Interoperability Assessment 2019: Contactless-to-Contact Read More

LANL: New Technique Separates Industrial Noise From Natural Seismic Signals

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Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

For the first time, seismologists can characterize signals as a result of some industrial human activity on a continent-wide scale using cloud computing.

In two recently published papers in Seismological Research Letters, scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory demonstrate how previously characterized “noise” can now be viewed as a specific signal in a large geographical area thanks to an innovative approach to seismic data analyses.

“In the past, human-caused seismic signals as a result of industrial activities were viewed as ‘noise’ that polluted Read More

AFNWC Splits Directorates Into Two To Improve Focus On Providing Nuclear Mission Capabilities To Warfighter

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Kirtland AFB News:

The Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center is restructuring its directorates to improve focus on providing nuclear capabilities to the warfighter.

The center is responsible for synchronizing all aspects of nuclear materiel management on behalf of Air Force Materiel Command, in direct support of Air Force Global Strike Command. It has more than 1,300 personnel assigned to 18 locations worldwide.

Headquartered at Kirtland AFB, the center’s former Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Systems Directorate at Hill AFB, Utah, divided into two new directorates:

  • The Minuteman
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Los Alamos Makers Launches Soft Re-opening

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Elannah Venhaus, a former Biodidact intern learning the ropes of DNA barcoding. Courtesy/LAM

A glimpse of Los Alamos makers’ wood shop. Los Alamos Makers is helping make woodworking safer and more accessible with its newly remodeled shop. The fully renovated shop will be revealed during an upcoming open house. Courtesy/LAM

Los Alamos Makers News:

Sunday, May 17 concluded this year’s National Week of Making. The coronavirus crisis has made it very clear that makers do matter and do make a difference, with makers of all kinds, and everywhere, participating in the global effort to provide personal

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LANL: ‘Green’ Quantum-Dot Solar Cells Exploit Defects

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Scanning electron microscope image of electrodes infiltrated with quantum dots, left, and the corresponding distributions of copper, indium, zinc, and selenium across the film thickness. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

  • Quantum-dot approach shows promise for a new type of toxic-element-free, inexpensive, defect-tolerant solar cells

Novel quantum dot solar cells developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory match the efficiency of existing quantum-dot based devices, but without lead or other toxic elements that most solar cells of this type rely on. 

“This quantum-dot approach shows great Read More

AGU: New Proof Of Watery Plumes On Jupiter’s Moon Europa

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The new study is based on data collected by Galileo during a flyby of Europa in 2000. The image comprises data acquired by the Galileo Solid-State Imaging (SSI) experiment on the spacecraft’s first and fourteenth orbits through the Jupiter system, in 1995 and 1998, respectively, and was recently re-processed in 2014. The image scale is 1.6 km/pixel, and the north pole of the moon is to the right. Courtesy/NASA/JPL-Caltech/SETI Institute

AGU News:

Jupiter’s moon Europa is a fascinating world. On its surface, the moon appears to be scratched and scored with reddish-brown scars, which rake across Read More

General Atomics Makes Advancement In Physics Understanding … Key Step Toward Practical Fusion Energy

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This graphic shows how density peaking increases with decreasing collisionality (blue squares). The largest increase in peaking is directly linked to changes in electron transport (yellow triangles) and not related to changes in direct core fueling (red circles). This highlights that peaked density profiles can be obtained at low collisionality in fusion reactors without core fueling. Courtesy/General Atomics

GA News:

SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Scientists at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility have made a significant advancement in physics understanding that represents a key step toward Read More