67 Search Results

In 2010, the National Ignition Facility (NIF) is scheduled to achieve ignition. We propose radiochemistry of the fusion bum products as an attractive way to measure the amount of DT fuel that is mixed in with the surrounding ablator material. In addition, radiochemistry offers the possibility of measuring the temperature history of the DT fuel burn, the <{rho}r> of the fuel, and the neutron fluence of the 14 MeV, reaction-in-flight ('knock-on'), and low-energy neutrons. We can use prompt {beta} spectroscopy from the debris products and collection of the debris (for mass spectrometry) to make the radiochemical measurements. Radiochemistry thus offers the opportunity to make unique measurements, as well as provide crosschecks with results from other diagnostics for NIF ignition capsules. We will limit our discussion here to reactions involving 0.9 atom% copper-doped beryllium ablator capsules filled with DT and gold hohlraums.

The authors calculated the stress-strain relation for elastomeric foam from an ab initio theory, which shows that the plateau and densification regions should be described by a hyperbola. The theory seems to agree reasonably well with experiment.

This is the final report of a three-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The authors find by numerical simulations that the elongated-potato shape that is characteristic of Earth-crossing asteroids (ECAs) is likely the result of previous close tidal encounters with Earth. Some meteoroids graze the atmosphere of Earth before returning to space (at reduced speed). They used a spherical atmospheric model to study such grazers to find the condition under which they are captured into gravitationally bound orbits around Earth. They find that for about every thousand iron asteroids that hit the Earth, one is captured into a gravitational-bound orbit. Some fraction of these captured objects will have their orbits stabilized for many revolutions by tidal encounters with the Moon and the sun. They have also studied how the damage produced by such grazing and near-grazing asteroids differs from that produced by asteroids that hit Earth more directly.

I calculate the error propagation for reference-resistor-based conductivity measurements in both the two-terminal and three-terminal case. I find no significant advantage to a three-terminal measurement in expanding dynamic range.

The elliptical orbits resulting from Newtonian gravitation are generated with a multifaceted symmetry, mainly resulting from their conservation of both angular momentum and a vector fixing their orientation in space--the Laplace or Runge-Lenz vector. From the ancient formalisms of celestial mechanics, The author shows a rather counterintuitive behavior of the classical hydrogen atom, whose orbits respond in a direction perpendicular to a weak externally-applied electric field. He then shows how the same results can be obtained more easily and directly from the intrinsic symmetry of the Kepler problem. If the atom is subjected to an oscillating electric field, it enjoys symmetry in the time domain as well, which is manifest by quasi-energy states defined only modulo h{omega}. Using the Runge-Lenz vector in place of the radius vector leads to an exactly-solvable model Hamiltonian for an atom is an oscillating electric field--embodying one of the few meaningful exact solutions in quantum mechanics, and a member of an even more exclusive set of exact solutions having a time-dependent Hamiltonian. He further shows that, as long as the atom suffers no change in principal quantum number, incident radiation will produce harmonic radiation with polarization perpendicular to the incident radiation. This unusual polarization results from the perpendicular response of the wavefunction, and is distinguished from most usual harmonic radiation resulting from a scalar nonlinear susceptibility. Finally, he speculates on how this radiation might be observed.

This is the final report of a one-year, Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). The objective was to verify the stimulated emission of gamma rays from {sup 125m}Te, as claimed by Russian scientists. The reported cross section for stimulated emission was sufficiently large to allow gain in a single-pass gamma-ray laser. The stimulated emission of gamma rays from a nuclear isomer is expected to result in collinear photons and, therefore, should be observable as a sum peak in the gamma-ray spectrum. Skorobogatov and Dzevitskii reported an increase of an order of magnitude in the sum peak (218.56 keV) when a sample of beryllium telluride containing {sup 125m}Te was cooled from room temperature to near-liquid-helium temperatures. The authors have repeated their experiment and have observed no increase in the sum peak above accidental summing. The upper limit for the stimulated-emission cross section based on the three-standard-deviation statistical error is 6.8 x 10 {sup {minus}21} cm{sup 2}. This result is one order of magnitude lower than the cross section reported by Skorobogatov and Dzevitskii. The cross section would not allow gain in a single-pass gamma-ray laser. Their results support the position of Baldwin and Solem rather than that of Kamenov.

This review is addressed to the development of lasers that might generate coherent radiation at ultrashort wavelengths by stimulating recoilless nuclear transitions in solids. First, the authors review the basic physics of stimulated emission, superradiance and the kinetics of lasing, with particular attention to those aspects that characterize recoilless nuclear transitions in solid hosts. Then they classify the various approaches to pumping that have been proposed for resolving the {open_quotes}graser dilemma{close_quotes}{emdash}that the pump can destroy the conditions essential to gain{emdash}and discuss the general requirements for specification of an active nuclide and its solid host. The authors then classify and review those graser systems proposed since 1980 and prior to July 1996 in the published literature of the field, namely, (1) those that would pump directly, either with radiation or with intense bursts of neutrons; (2) those that would pump indirectly by first generating a nuclear isomer; (3) those that would eliminate the need for population inversion; and (4) several miscellaneous concepts. The significance of recent relevant experiments is described and discussed, and, finally, recommendations for future research are made. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}

We are studying the transition of argon from an insulator to a conductor by compressing the frozen gas isentropically to pressures at which neighboring atomic orbitals overlap sufficiently to allow some electron motion between atoms. Argon and the other rare gases have closed electron shells and therefore remain montomic, even when they solidify. Their simple structure makes it likely that any measured change in conductivity is due to changes in the atomic structure, not in molecular configuration. As the crystal is compressed the band gap closes, allowing increased conductivity. We have begun research to determine the conductivity at high pressures, and it is our intention to determine the compression at which the crystal becomes a metal.

LANL and VNIIEF are performing a set of joint experiments to explore the conductivity and possible metalization of argon and krypton compressed to up to five times normal solid density. The experiments use a magnetic field of several megagauss, generated by a Russian MC1 generator, to compress a metallic tube containing solidified argon or krypton. A probe in the center of the tube measures the electrical conductivity to the walls, and a 70-MeV betatron serves as an x-ray source for three radiographic measurements of the compression. Several of these experiments for argon compressed to around 4 to 5 times solid density indicate a conductivity in the range of 10 to 100 {Omega}{sup -1}cm{sup -1}, well below that of a metal. For krypton preliminary results show a conductivity of order 1000 or more, indicating likely metalization of the compressed sample.

We present an overview of the Dirac experimental campaign conducted at Los Alamos in spring of 1996. The name was chosen in recognition of P.A.M. Dirac`s monumental contributions to quantum theory, which affected every aspect of the science we planned to investigate. We show how the various collaborations were put together, discuss some of the difficulties of collecting data in rapidly changing magnetic fields, describe the motivation, packaging, and integration of experiments, and give an exceedingly preliminary discussion of some of the results.