January/February 2007 National Nuclear Security Administration’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Also in this issue: • • Countering Countering Nuclear Terrorism • • Fast Fast Flow throughthrough Nanotubes • • Unique Unique Microbial Communities About the Cover Livermore’s Titan, the only laser in the world that couples a high-energy, petawatt short-pulse beam with a kilojoule long-pulse beam, supports Laboratory research as well as collaborations with other institutions and universities. As the article on p. 4 describes, researchers use the dual-beam laser to investigate matter under extreme conditions pertinent to astrophysics, materials science, and plasma physics. Experiments on Titan will also help determine the physics requirements for future experiments at the National Ignition Facility. Shown on the cover is physicist Pravesh Patel of the Physics and Advanced Technologies Directorate setting up an experiment in the Titan target chamber. Cover design: Amy Henke Cover design: About the Review Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration. At Livermore, we focus science and technology on ensuring our nation’s security. We also apply that expertise to solve other important national problems in energy, bioscience, and the environment. Science & Technology Review is published 10 times a year to communicate, to a broad audience, the Laboratory’s scientific and technological accomplishments in fulfilling its primary missions. The publication’s goal is to help readers understand these accomplishments and appreciate their value to the individual citizen, the nation, and the world. Please address any correspondence (including name and address changes) to S&TR, Mail Stop L-664, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, P.O. Box 808, Livermore, California 94551, or telephone (925) 423-3432. 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January/February 2007 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Contents S&TR Staff SCIENTIFIC EDITOR 3 Another Step for High-Energy-Density Science Harry B. Radousky and Teller’s Legacy Commentary by George H. Miller MANAGING EDITOR Ray Marazzi 4 Titan Leads the Way in Laser–Matter Science PUBLICATION EDITOR Livermore’s Titan laser combines long- and short-pulse lasers Pamela MacGregor to explore high-energy-density science. WRITERS Arnie Heller, Ann Parker, 12 Identifying the Source of Stolen Nuclear Materials Gabriele Rennie, and Katie Walter Nuclear forensic scientists are using advanced techniques to discover the exact nature of interdicted radiological and nuclear materials, ART DIRECTOR AND DESIGNER their age and origin, and where legitimate control was lost. Amy Henke ILLUSTRATOR Mark McDaniel PROOFREADER Carolin Middleton 19 Tiny Tubes Make the Flow Go Membranes made up of billions of tiny carbon tubes 50,000 times S&TR, a Director’s Office publication, is slimmer than a human hair allow liquids and gases to flow through produced by the Technical Information at astonishingly fast speeds. Department under the direction of the Office of Policy, Planning, and Special 21 Acidic Microbe Community Fosters the Unique Studies. In an abandoned mine, where the pH can be even lower than zero, communities of acidophilic microbes produce hundreds of S&TR is available on the Web at www.llnl.gov/str. unusual proteins. Printed in the United States of America Available from National Technical Information Service U.S. Department of Commerce 2 The Laboratory in the News 5285 Port Royal Road Springfield, Virginia 22161 24 Patents and Awards UCRL-TR-52000-07-1/2 Distribution Category UC-99 25 Abstracts January/February 2007 2 The Laboratory in the News S&TR January/February 2007 Discovery of element 118 They found that 3He burning in a region just outside of the Scientists from the Chemistry, Materials, and Life Sciences helium core, previously thought to be stable, creates conditions Directorate in collaboration with researchers from the Joint that drive a newly discovered mixing mechanism. Bubbles of Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) in Russia have discovered material, slightly enriched in hydrogen and substantially depleted element 118, the newest superheavy element. In experiments in 3He, float to the surface of the star and are replaced by 3He-rich conducted at the JINR U400 cyclotron between February and June material for additional burning. In this way, the stars destroy their 2005, the researchers observed atomic decay patterns, or chains, excess 3He, without requiring additional conditions such as rapid that establish the existence of element 118. rotation. The research appears in the October 26, 2006, edition of The experiments yielded three atoms of element 118 by Science Express. bombarding a californium target with calcium ions. The team Contact: David S. Dearborn (925) 422-7219 ([email protected]) or observed the alpha decay from element 118 to element 116 and Peter Eggleton (925) 423-0660 ([email protected]). then to element 114. The Livermore–Dubna team had created the same isotope of element 116 in earlier experiments. This discovery Scientists capture nanoscale images with x-ray laser brings the total to five new elements for the Livermore–Dubna Laboratory scientists have for the first time validated the idea of collaboration (113, 114, 115, 116, and 118). The results were using extremely short and intense x-ray pulses to capture images of published in the October 9, 2006, edition of Physical Review C. objects, such as proteins, before the x rays destroy the sample. At Contact: Ken Moody (925) 423-4585 ([email protected]). the same time, they also established a speed record of 25 femtoseconds for flash imaging. When even more powerful Scientists crack open stellar evolution x-ray lasers are available, the new method will be applicable Using three-dimensional models run on some of the fastest to atomic-resolution imaging of complex biomolecules. The computers in the world, Laboratory physicists have created a technique will allow scientists to gain insight into the fields of mathematical code that cracks a mystery surrounding stellar materials science, plasma physics, biology, and medicine. evolution. For years, physicists have theorized that low-mass stars Using the free-electron laser at Deutsches Elektronen- (about one to two times the size of the sun) produce great amounts Synchrotron in Hamburg, scientists, as part of an international of helium-3 (3He). When low-mass stars exhaust the hydrogen in collaboration led by Henry Chapman of Lawrence Livermore and their cores to become red giants, most of their matter is ejected, Janos Hajdu of Uppsala University, were able to record a single substantially enriching the universe in this light isotope of helium. diffraction pattern of a nanostructured object before the laser However, this enrichment when added to big bang predictions destroyed the sample. A Livermore-developed computer algorithm conflicts with observations. Assuming that nearly all stars were then used the recorded diffraction pattern to re-create an image of the rapidly rotating, scientists theorized that stars destroy the 3He. object. This imaging technique could be applied to atomic-resolution However, even this theory failed to bring the evolution results into imaging because it does not require a high-resolution lens. The flash agreement with the big bang and observations. images could resolve features 50 nanometers in size, which is about Now, by modeling a red giant with a fully three-dimensional 10 times smaller than what is achievable with an optical microscope. hydrodynamic code, Livermore researchers Peter Eggleton and The research appeared in the November 12, 2006, online edition of David Dearborn identified the mechanism of how and where low- Nature Physics. mass stars destroy the 3He produced during the stars’ evolution. Contact: Henry Chapman (925) 423-1580 ([email protected]). Lawrence Livermore National