Science

NMED Finds Marked Improvement In RCRA Violations At LANL For 2017

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By MAIRE O’NEILL
Los Alamos Daily Post

Results of the annual Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) inspection for 2017 by the New Mexico Environment Department indicate only five violations for proper management of hazardous waste for the year under Los Alamos National Laboratory’s RCRA Hazardous Waste Operating Permit, a marked improvement from previous years.

LANL’s chief spokesman said Wednesday that overall, this year’s annual RCRA inspection by the State shows improvement in Lab performance from past years, as evidenced by fewer non-compliances. Read More

LANL: Finding Order In Disorder Demonstrates A New State Of Matter

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Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist Cristiano Nisoli. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

  • ‘Spindoctors’ note that topological order, associated with quantum mechanics, also applies to classical material called artificial spin ice

Physicists have identified a new state of matter whose structural order operates by rules more aligned with quantum mechanics than standard thermodynamic theory. In a classical material called artificial spin ice, which in certain phases appears disordered, the material is actually ordered, but in a “topological” form.

“Our research shows for the first time Read More

Interactive Tour Of Heavens At Planetarium April 6

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The Milky Way. Photo by Elena Giorgi

 

PEEC News: 

 

The community is invited to take an interactive tour of the heavens that highlights the planets, star patterns, constellations, and deep sky objects that might be observed during the month of April. This event is 7 p.m. Friday, April 6 in the Planetarium at the Los Alamos Nature Center, 2600 Canyon Dr.

 

Dr. Paul Arendt will discuss selected objects outlined in star chart handouts that will be given to the audience. The program will end with a brief presentation on several recent solar system phenomena announced by NASA and Read More

LAHS Robotics Club Competes In Colorado Regional

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LAHS Robotics Club, FIRST Team 4153–Project Y at the Colorado Regional last weekend in Denver. Courtesy photo
 

LAHS Robotics Club, FIRST Team 4153–Project Y, center robot, competing on the field with two other robots. Courtesy photo

 

PROJECT Y News:
 
The Los Alamos High School Robotics Club, FIRST Team 4153–Project Y, competed last weekend in Denver, Colo., in the Colorado Regional FIRST Robotics Competition.
 
The Team competed with their robot named “Bohr Bot.” The competition included teams from New Mexico, Colorado, Texas,
Read More

Councilors Talk Pros & Cons Of Small Nuclear Reactor

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Los Alamos County Councilor Pete Sheehey, a rendering of Nuscale and Council Vice Chair Christine Chandler at a March 26 meeting on the County’s participation in the Carbon-Free Power Project. Courtesy photo
 
By CRISTINA OLDS
Voices of Los Alamos
 
The Los Alamos County Council will vote April 10 on the County’s participation in the Carbon-Free Power Project (CFPP) to construct a 600-megawatt nuclear power-generating facility that utilizes small modular reactors.
 
An $80,000 investment is required and will not be refundable later in the process if the County chooses to
Read More

LANL Faces Penalties For Delayed Shipment Of Five Hazardous Waste Containers

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By MAIRE O’NEILL
Los Alamos Daily Post

New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) is expected to propose a civil penalty against Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for storage of two hazardous waste containers for more than the 90-day storage time limit in central accumulation storage areas and three hazardous waste containers over the one-year storage time in a permitted unit.

LANL notified NMED Feb. 1 of the noncompliance issues and NMED has since determined that LANL has violated the New Mexico Hazardous Waste Management Regulations (20.4.1 NMAC) and the Lab’s Read More

AGU: Satellites And Cell Phones Form A Cholera Early-Warning System

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A Bangladeshi village woman collects water from a tube well, which taps a shallow unconfined aquifer, amid surroundings flooded with contaminated water. A new initiative combines satellite data with observations and communication networks on the ground to warn Bangladeshis of waterborne cholera hazards. Mushfiqul Alam/NurPhoto/Getty Images
 
AGU News:
 
Cholera, an acute waterborne diarrheal illness, poses a major threat to global health, especially in developing countries of sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Estimates suggest that cholera affects approximately
Read More

Kirtland Youth Center STEM Center Of Innovation Grand Opening Today

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KAFB News:
 
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE ― Kirtland’s Youth Center announces the new Science Technology Engineering and Math, or STEM, Center of Innovation grand opening ceremony 3-5 p.m. March 29, at Kirtland Air Force Base, 2000 Wyoming Blvd SE in Albuquerque.
 
Raytheon and the Boys Girls Clubs of America have partnered to create STEM Centers of Innovation at select Boys & Girls Clubs and Youth Centers, whose partnership supports a high-quality, technology-based STEM program.
 
The Kirtland Youth Programs, part of the Kirtland Force Support
Read More

LANL: Accepting Applications For Free Summer Physics Camp For High School Girls … Deadline April 30

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Students watching a science demonstration at the 2017 Summer Physics Camp for Young Women. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico Consortium and Pojoaque Valley High School are hosting a two-week Summer Physics Camp for Young Women in Northern New Mexico.

While gaining a better understanding of the physics of the sun, Earth and everything in between, participants will learn how to write computer programs and get introduced to internship opportunities at the Laboratory.

Daily activities will include demonstrations, hands-on laboratory experiments, and Read More

LANL: New Issue Of 1663 Magazine Now Available

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Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Science news from Los Alamos National Laboratory is now available in the new issue of 1663 magazine.

In this issue:

  • How lightning starts and what it can be used for;
  • Shocks, whirls, and the science of turbulence;
  • Ultrathin metasurfaces for electromagnetic signal control;
  • Zika and chikungunya risk in the United States;
  • The environment and its tiniest inhabitants;
  • …and more.

Click here to get your science and technology fix from Los Alamos. Read More