Science

First Bats Fly Through Virginia Tech’s New Bat Cave

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A working motion capture tunnel for both live bats and robots. Courtesy/VT

A robot bat copies the flight of live bats. Courtesy/VT

VIRGINIA TECH News:

Virginia Tech Professor Rolf Mueller started a journey to record the movements of bats in Brunei nearly three years ago. Now, having overcome multiple delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, he has a working motion capture tunnel for both live bats and robots that copy their flight.

With an array of high-speed cameras and ultrasonic microphones, the tunnel’s technology captures the motion and biosonar pulses of the flying bats. By observing Read More

SMNHC: Observe The Moon Night Saturday Oct. 1

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Courtesy/SMNHC

SMNHC News:

The community is invited to celebrate International Observe the Moon Night from the Sandia Mountains, 7-9 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 1, at the Sandia Mountain Natural History Center (SMNHC).

SMNHC is hosting this event associated with the international celebration, including a night sky observation.

International Observe the Moon Night brings the world together in studying and appreciating our beautiful natural satellite. For more information about the international celebration, visit moon.nasa.gov/observe-the-moon-night/.

Enjoy a stroll along the Center’s Read More

Frontiers In Science: Developments In Detecting Disease

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Harshini Mukundan reveals how the human immune system inspired a better approach for identifying and diagnosing new diseases during her upcoming Frontiers in Science talks in Los Alamos and Santa Fe. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Frontiers in Science presents Harshini Mukundan and a look at how the human immune system inspired a new, universal approach to diagnosing emerging infectious diseases. Join the Los Alamos National Laboratory Fellows and the Bradbury Science Museum for this free public talk Thursday, Sept. 15, in Los Alamos or Friday, Sept. 16, in Santa Fe.

Emerging infectious diseases Read More

AGU: Diamonds And Rust At Earth’s Core-Mantle Boundary

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The iron-carbon alloy reacted with water at high pressure and high temperature conditions related to the Earth’s deep mantle in a diamond-anvil cell. Courtesy photo

AGU News:

Steel rusts by water and air on the Earth’s surface. But what about deep inside the Earth’s interior?

The Earth’s core is the largest carbon storage on Earth – roughly 90% is buried there. Scientists have shown that the oceanic crust that sits on top of tectonic plates and falls into the interior (in a process called subduction) contains hydrous minerals and can sometimes descend all the way to the core-mantle boundary. Read More

General Atomics: Scientists Demonstrate Technique To Protect Fusion Devices From Sudden Energy Loss

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The Shattered Pellet Injection (SPI) research program at DIII-D has recently contributed to an international investigation that identified a common physics basis in the behavior of this disruption mitigation technique. The left column shows two camera images as a shattered pellet reaches the plasma edge (left-top) and then as shards reach the core (left-bottom). The magnetic instabilities measured during deuterium SPI shutdowns show common behavior across DIII-D, JET, and KSTAR (right-top), pointing to common physics that can be extrapolated to future devices. The Oak Ridge National Read More

LANL News Roundup: For Week Of Aug. 22-26, 2022

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Nine Los Alamos projects win R&D 100 Awards

Nine Los Alamos National Laboratory technologies won 2022 R&D 100 Awards and five inventions scored Special Recognition awards, including a gold medal in the Green Technology category, a silver medal for Battling COVID-19, and bronze medals for Market Disruptor – Products, Market Disruptor – Services, and Corporate Social Responsibility. Read the full article here. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) shares a compilation of news stories for the week of Aug. 22-26, 2022.

Quantum AI breakthrough: theorem Read More

AFRL Partners With NASA, Academia, Industry On Spacecraft Flight Experiment

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Materials International Space Station Experiment, or MISSE, in the grasp of the International Space Station robotic Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator. Mission Control personnel on Earth used a robotic arm to relocate MISSE from inside the Japanese Experiment Module airlock to its installation locations on the exterior of Space Station. The MISSE spaceflight experiment is a collaboration among the Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, Georgia Tech Research Institute and DuPont to study the effects of space weather exposure on spacecraft materials. Courtesy/NASA 

Materials International Read More

AFRL’s Oscillating Heat Pipes Are Even Cooler In Space

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The Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader, or ASETS-II, Oscillating Heat Pipe experiment, developed at the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate, to solve spacecraft thermal challenges. Courtesy/AFRL 

AFRL News:

KIRTLAND AFB — The Air Force Research Laboratory, or AFRL, has released the results from its Advanced Structurally Embedded Thermal Spreader Two, or ASETS-II. 

The AFRL experiment was 100 percent effective in testing the most recent version of the revolutionary Oscillating Heat Pipes, or OHPs, and the results of the more than 6,600 hours of on-orbit testing are being Read More

LANL: Los Alamos ScienceFest Marks Successful Public Premiere For Challenge Tomorrow Trailers

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A young visitor explores the radiation sensor exhibit at the Challenge Tomorrow trailers. Photo by David Moore

LANL News:

Challenge Tomorrow — the Bradbury Science Museum’s traveling STEM experience — had a successful public premiere July 16 at Los Alamos ScienceFest’s Discovery Day.

In an energetic and excited atmosphere, visitors of all ages experienced hands-on activities demonstrating the different types of science happening at the Lab.

Challenge Ambassadors from the Lab, wearing distinct purple shirts, were on hand to help curious visitors make discoveries of their own in the Mission Read More

AGU: How Wildfires Affect Snow In American West

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In places like the Indian Creek watershed in southern Colorado, wildfires have left lasting impacts and affect snow accumulation. Photo by Laura Hempel, Ph.D.

AGU News:

Fresh powder does more than support winter sports. Snowmelt flows into streams, where it helps sustain agriculture, supports natural ecosystems, and provides drinking water. But wildfires are threatening snowpacks, and research on wildfire’s impact on snow water equivalent generally focuses on localized areas, with varying methods and conflicting results.

Now, Giovando and Niemann set about rectifying this situation Read More