Science

Project VeX Robots Enter Vex IQ Challenge Finals

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Los Alamos Robotics Team named, ‘Project VeX’ is made up of 5th, 6th, and 7th graders. Last weekend, they traveled to the Vex IQ Challenge in Pinetop, Arizona. Project VeX entered five robots and out of the 45 robots entered, four made it all the way to the Finals! Robot #87544D, created and driven by Filip Velisavljevic and Cam McDonald earned the highest honor, the ‘Elementary School Excellence Award’. Courtesy photo

‘Project VeX’ team members hold trophy.Courtesy photo

‘Project VeX’ team members at competition. Courtesy photo Read More

TechSource Donates $5,000 To LAPS Foundation

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From left, LAPS Foundation Executive Director Laura Loy, TechSource CEO Brian D’Andrea and LAPS Foundation Fundraising Chair Karen Hawkins. TechSource Inc., a locally-headquartered science and engineering small business and subcontractor of Triad National Security, donated $5,000 to education in Los Alamos through the LAPS Foundation. The money will be used to foster innovation and growth in the public schools. To learn more about the LAPS Foundation and how to support the local schools, visit www.lapsfoundation.com.  Read More

OSIRIS-REx Arrives At Asteroid Bennu

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UA News:
 
TUCSON, Ariz. — NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft arrived at its destination, asteroid Bennu, Dec. 3. Led by the University of Arizona, the OSIRIS-REx mission is the first NASA mission to visit a near-Earth asteroid, survey the surface, collect a sample and deliver it safely back to Earth.
 
The composition of the asteroid, Bennu, could shed more light on the origins of the solar system.
 
“Initial data from the approach phase show this object to have exceptional scientific value. We can’t wait to get to work studying and characterizing Bennu’s
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SAR Lecture: Chacoan Astronomy, Cosmography, Roads And Ritual Power Jan. 24

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SAR News:
 
SANTA FE ― A sunray perfectly pierces a spiral rock formation marking the summer solstice; a shadow on a long South wall calls in the equinox. These astronomical alignments, embedded in the structures and roads across the Chaco Canyon region, provide insights into the pre-Colombian Puebloan culture.
 
The School for Advanced Research (SAR) is pleased to share exciting new developments on one of North America’s most influential archeological sites in the next Creative Thought Forum lecture. Anna Sofaer and her collaborators at the Solstice Project, Richard Friedman
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Committee On Arms Control & International Security Presents Talk By LANL Senior Fellow Terry Hawkins

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LACACIS News:

The Los Alamos Committee on Arms Control and International Security (LACACIS) will hold its annual meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, in the lounge of The United Church of Los Alamos at 2525 Canyon Road.  

A brief business meeting will be followed by a presentation by LANL Senior Fellow Houston T. (Terry) Hawkins. The presentation is entitled “The Art and Science of Surviving What We Are Becoming.” Hawkins grounds his presentation in the field of socially coupled systems and informatics (SCSI), which deals with the social aspects of computerization. He documents Read More

Unique STEM Opportunities At LAMS

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By Mr. T.J. BONZON
LAMS Computer Science Teacher
 
We are thankful for the recent support from LAPS Foundation and our local Rotary Club who have awarded us separate grants for our Robotic Blimps and Hoverboard Repair projects.
 
LAPS Foundation awarded us $825 for two robotic blimps, and the Rotary Club awarded us $500 for replacement parts and for a LAMS hoverboard.
 
My pre-engineering/robotics student Nick Sawyer attended the initial Rotary Club luncheon two weeks ago to present the hoverboard repair project for their consideration. Nick then went back with me yesterday
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NIST: New Device Widens Light Beams By 400 Times

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This mode expansion device is made of a linear waveguide, a slab waveguide, and a grating. Light enters the device through the linear waveguide. When the waveguide makes contact with the slab, the light expands laterally. The grating then converts the expanded light into waves through free-space. The process also can happen in reverse, bringing free-space light into the waveguide. This enables researchers to connect two mode expansion devices together. For instance, they can use two devices to prove an unknown gas. By Sean Kelley/NIST
 
NIST News:
 
By using light waves instead
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NIST: Atomic Clocks Now Keep Time Well Enough To Improve Models Of Earth

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NIST physicist Andrew Ludlow and colleagues achieved new atomic clock performance records in a comparison of two ytterbium optical lattice clocks. Laser systems used in both clocks are visible in the foreground, and the main apparatus for one of the clocks is located behind Ludlow. Courtesy/Burrus/NIST
 
NIST News:
 
Experimental atomic clocks at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have achieved three new performance records, now ticking precisely enough to not only improve timekeeping and navigation, but also detect faint signals from gravity, the
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AGU: Whale Songs’ Changing Pitch May Be Response To Population, Climate Changes

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A fin whale surfaces at 58˚S in the southern Indian Ocean in a photo captured in January 2010 from the R/V Marion Dufresne, the research vessel that collected hydrophone data for the new study. Courtesy/J-Y Royer
 
AGU News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Blue whales around the world are singing a little flat, and scientists may now have more clues as to the reason why.
 
A new study finds there’s a seasonal variation in the whales’ pitch correlated with breaking sea ice in the southern Indian Ocean. The new research also extends the mysterious long-term falling pitch to related baleen whales
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PEEC: Explore The Sun With Joyce Guzik Friday

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Joyce Guzik will present the talk ‘Inside the Sun’ at 7 p.m. Friday at the nature center. Courtesy/PEEC
 
PEEC News:
 
Learn about a local star Friday, Nov. 30 at the Los Alamos Nature Center’s planetarium at a presentation from Joyce Guzik called “Inside the Sun.”
 
Guzik’s presentation begins at 7 p.m. and explores why the sun shines, the possible fate of the sun and earth and much more. She guarantees that the audience will learn something about the sun that they didn’t know before.
 
In her talk, Guzik will discuss what generates energy inside the sun, how the sun was formed,
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