BNL—52110 DB88 012365

BROOKHAVEN HIGHLIGHTS

MASTER

Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, Long Island, New York 11973 Brookhaven National Laboratory is operated by Associated Universities, Inc.. under contract No. DE-AC02-76CH00016 with the United States Department of Energy. Brookhaven is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Report No. BNL 52110. DOE/OSTI-4500-lNTERIM 2, distribution categories UC-13 and UC-500 — general, miscellaneous and progress reports (nuclear and nonnuclear). Printed in the United States of America. Available from the National Technical Infor- mation Service. U.S Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Road. Springfield, VA 22161. NTIS price codes: printed copy — A05, microfiche copy — A01. This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, nor any of their contractors, subcontractors, or their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, appa- ratus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe pri- vately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency, contractor or subcontractor thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency, contractor or subcontractor thereof.

The cost of the use of color in this publication was paid by Associated Universities. Inc.. using non-Department of Energy funds. Contents

2 A Word About BNL 62 Biology Department 62 A Golden Opportunity 4 Brookhaven Today 64 Mismatch Repair — Nature's Remedy for Mistakes 6 The National Synchrotron Light Source: 66 Beaming In on Structural Biology The Best and the Brightest 68 Applied Mathematics Department 12 The Big Machines 68 The Computer Connection

14 Alternating Gradient Synchrotron Department 70 Reactor Division 14 Heavy Ions — A New Probe for the AGS 70 The HFBR — A Premier Source of Neutrons 16 SEB — The Multipurpose Beam 18 A Boost for Physics 72 Safety and Environmental Protection Division 72 Getting (he Dose Down 20 Accelerator Development Department 20 The Promise of RHIC 74 Instrumentation Division 22 The AGS Gets a Boost 24 Super Magnets for a Super Collider 74 Tiny Photocell With Mighty Potential

26 Physics Department 76 General and Administrative 26 In Search of a Rare Event 28 The New Superconductors: Why Do They Work? 78 Financial Report 30 Death of a Star 79 Meetings 32 Department of Nuclear Energy 32 Being Prepared 80 Honors 34 Safety in Computer Codes 36 Safe Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Waste 82 Organization

38 Department of Applied Science 38 Saving Energy Saves Dollars 40 A Burning Question 42 PFTs: Detective Gases

44 National Synchrotron Light Source Department 44 In Synch With the New Superconductors 46 At the Micron Level — 3-D Images 48 Holography — The View From the Light Source

50 Chemistry Department 50 Probing Transient Molecules 52 High Pressure Work on Alkanes 54 Hot Oxygen Atoms Yield New Chemistry

56 Medical Department 56 Breakthrough in Testing for Lead Toxicity 58 To Better the Odds Against Cancer 60 Magic Bullets Find Their Target A Word About BNL

uring the years 1986 and 1987, Brookhaven National DLaboratory' (BNL) and Asso- ciated Universities. Inc. (AUI) cele- brated the fortieth anniversaries of both their foundings and their long association. AUI was formed in 1946 by a group of nine universities, for the purpose of establishing and managing a laboratory in the Northeast that would help ensure the continued progress of nuclear science in peace- The UNI. site time. In less than a year. BNL was a Alternating Gradient Synchrotron 1947 fact. 1971 Today. AUI continues to manage BNL under a contract with the U.S. Department of Energy. The nine sponsoring universities are: Colum- bia University. Cornell University. Harvard University. The Johns Hop- kins University. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University. University of Rochester and Yale University. Brookhaven is a multidisiplinary laboratory that carries out basic and applied research in the physical, biomedical and environmental Cosmotron sciences and in selected energy High Flux Beam Reactor 1952 technologies. At Brookhaven, the 1976 resources of academia and the fed- eral government are brought together to carry out research endeavors not normally within the capability of a single university. BNL is located on Long Island in New York, at Upton, the site of a former army camp where U.S. sol- diers trained during both World Wars. Now. some 3.200 civilian employees help the science go for- ward at a site that resembles a sprawling university campus. The physical plant contains about 300 buildings and other structures, sit- Brookhaven Graphite Research Reactor uated on 5.265 acres of wooded National Synchrotron Light Source 1953 property. 1982 The UNI. site 1987 Brookhaven Today

wo years of research are tron Light Source (NSLS). The appli- described within the pages cation potentials of these materials Tof this issue of Brookhaven in industry and science are exciting. Highlights. They put the cap on the The Laboratory participated in the Laboratory's first 40 years ... years Irvine/Michigan/Brookhaven collab- of forefront science certainly worth oration, which, over a six-second celebrating period in February 1987. observed That's just what we did in Sep- eight neutrinos that were probably tember 1987, with a two-day scien- ejected from a supernova during a tific symposium emphasizing the stellar explosion in the Greater next 40 years, and beyond. Magellanic Cloud. The observations But I believe that every year is the were made in a detector located at product of the ones that preceded it. the bottom of a 200-foot-deep Cleve- In the two years just past, we con- land salt mine and contributed to tinued to lay the groundwork for a theories about heavy element crea- future that we expect to be as impor- tion in the universe. tant and exciting as our past has President Reagan, in January been. 1987, gave his approval to the con- Much of the success of our course struction of the SSC. If approved by of action can be characterized by the Congress, this facility will be the word super, as in superconductivity, largest proton collider in the world. supernova and Superconducting Brookhaven has been involved in a Super Collider (SSC). As a multidis- collaborative effort with Fermi ciplinary laboratory, we have been National Accelerator Laboratory and very gratified to have been a major Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory on the player in these milestone scientific R**D efforts to produce machine- events. quality superconducting magnets for Brookhaven was the third institu- the SSC. tion to produce high temperature I can only wish for the SSC that it superconductors and the second to prove as reliable, productive and ver- create a material that becomes satile as the AGS has been through superconducting above 90 kelvins. its 27 years. Today, the advent of a Intensive research on these mate- program searching for the very rare rials is currently under way at the decay of K mesons is providing the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron opportunity to explore the 100- (AGS). High Flux Beam Reactor trillion-electron-volt energy domain. (HFBR) and the National Synchro- In 1986. with the commissioning of the beam transfer line connecting the AGS and the Tandem Van de Graaff, our proton accelerator took on an added dimension, as scientists began experimenting there with heavy ions generated in the Tandem. The AGS was also the focus of two ceremonies at our 40th anniversary celebration. Fittingly, the entire AGS complex was dedicated to the memory of Leland J. Haworth. BNL's second Director, who initiated the AGS proposal and saw the project through to completion. Also, ground was broken for the Accumulator- Booster accelerator, which, when completed and coupled to the AGS, will increase every aspect of the AGS physics program many times over. With the Accumulator-Booster, the AGS will be ready to serve as the injector for the accelerator we have proposed as BNL's next major project: the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). I was extremely pleased by the positive review the U.S. Depart- ment of Energy (DOE) gave the RHIC proposal in June 1987. During the last two years, many important milestones were met at the NSLS. which, as this year's spe- cial section shows, has matured into a world-class facility, where excite- ment is always in the air. Witness the pace of achievements in 1987 alone: The 200-milliampere current barrier was broken in the x-ray ring In January, the initiative to develop a compact synchrotron received its first funds in March, light came out of the first of five Phase H beam lines in May, the first spectrum of a monochromatic beam was recorded at the Laser Electron Gamma Source of the x-ray ring in June, and the Phase II expansion was dedicated in September. I was exceptionally proud of the Light Source when it was singled out in July 1986 as the host facility for 52 winners of the High School Honors Research Program sponsored by the DOE. This proved such a suc- cess. DOE asked us to repeat it in July 1987. As vital and productive as our that links BNL, 14 universities and present machines are, including the several industrial laboratories, giving NSLS and the AGS, we recognize the them access to several supercomput- need for continued research into ers across the country. new methods of accelerating parti- There's that word super again. I cles and producing synchrotron don't want to wear it out. but I (hink radiation. That's why we established it also can be used to describe the the Center for Accelerator Physics in job Brookhaven has done in meeting December 1986. the needs of scientific researchers Other developments also showed around the world, with premier facil how far-ranging Brookhaven's ities not available elsewhere. And. research can be. Following the April with the efforts of our creative scien 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl-4 tific staff to enhance this already nuclear power plant in the Soviet multidisciplinary laboratory with Union, our scientists helped analyze new projects, super is also a word I the accident, screen tourists return- apply to the outlook for the future. ing to New York and study the acci- dent's health effects. And by May 1987. our main computers had been tied into NYSERNet. the New York Nicholas P. Saniios State Education Research Network Director The National Synchrotron Light Source: The Best and the Brightest

A new entrance to the NSLS was built during Phase II. a four-year construction project to add advanced new beam lines as well as more office and experi- mental space to accommodate the rapidly growing number of users of the facility. From the air, the NSLS makes a distinct come to do experiments using one or 1982, a second construction phase mark on the Laboratory's landscape. the other of the facility's two rings, was needed. the VUV ring or the x-ray ring. The NSL3 is an electron accelera- Phasen tor. When ultrarelativistic electrons Begun in 1984. Phase II was a ess than a decade ago. cere- move in a curved path, they emit a four-year project to add advanced moniaJ shovels vigorously wide spectrum of synchrotron radia- new beam lines and also more office Lcutting into the earth inau- tion, from infrared, through visible and experimental space. There are gurated the construction phase of a light, to ultraviolet and x-rays. In the now a total of 90 beam lines avail- major machine at Brookhaven — the past, facilities for synchrotron radia- able to the scientific community. National Synchrotron Light Source tion research were "parasitic.'" using The advanced beam lines use (NSLS). Today, the NSLS is a facility of the radiation given off at accelera- brightness-enhanced sources and international reputation — one of tors whose primary function was include four beam lines on the x-ray the worlds most powerful and versa- high energy physics research. But ring, as well as one infrared beam tile sources of synchrotron radiation, with increased awareness of the ver- line on the VUV ring. The new x-ray providing intense beams of x-rays satility of synchrotron radiation, beam lines will be commissioned in and vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) light demand for dedicated machines 1988. for research in physics, chemistry. quickly escalated. The experimental floor expansion biology and various technologies. Although there are now several includes more beam line space, four In 1987 alone, the NSLS accommo- locations where synchrotron radia- laboratories, two darkrooms, a clean dated over 900 researchers from tion research is carried out. the NS[^> room and an angiography suite for across the U.S. and from various is the largest dedicated facility in the upcoming research on the use of x- countries around the world. These world. In fact, demand for experi- rays to image human coronary arter- scientists represent approximately mental time on the machine has ies. Also, a tunnel was built to con- 50 universities. 14 corporations and been so great that, within jusi a few nect the Light Source building with 14 government institutions. They vears of the facility's dedication in the basement ol the Instrumentation Plan view of the NSLS. Division, where some NSLS support have a short wavelength and good groups are housed. penetrating power. This wiggler will be useful for angiography studies Insertion Devices and materials science research. As part of Phase II, four magnetic • Soft X-Ray Undulator — The insertion devices were designed and soft x-ray undulator will provide soft their installation begun on the x-ray x-rays with very high brightness and ring. These devices, dubbed "wig- collimation. It is needed to perfect glers" and "undulators" because the techniques for x-ray microscopy and former make the electrons wiggle three-dimensional x-ray imaging and the later make them wiggle more (holography). gently and slowly, will enable re- • Hybrid Wigglers — Two hybrid searchers to look at very small sam- wigglers are being installed. Called ples, surfaces or cross-sections. hybrids because they have both The four devices are: permanent magnets and iron poles, • Superconducting Wiggler — these wigglers will supply x-rays for Actually constructed before Phase II studies of surface structures and for began, the superconducting wiggler very high energy resolution inelastic is a source of hard x-rays, which x-ray scattering. X-Ray Ring Upgrade urements, imaging and studies of time evolution in chemical reactions. How Does the NSLS In March 1987, the x-ray ring Besides the installation of new Work? began a scheduled shutdown that beam diagnostic equipment and will carry into 1988. One of the activ- The National-Synchrotron < other devices to improve beam qual- f ities for this period is the installa- ity, major work on the ring itself Light Source I NSLS I is some tion of the four insertion devices included the addition of a special ' times described as a giant described above. Accompanying this radio frequency (RF) cavity. light bulb. Here's how it really works: work is the replacement of existing The regular RF cavity drives the vacuum chambers with special ones electrons in bunches around the * Synchrotron radiation is the that accommodate the insertion ring. Because they are charged parti- electromagnetic radiation devices. cles, the electrons tend to repel each given off by electrons when In addition, a major upgrade is other and break out of the bunches. they move rapidly in a curved being made to the water-cooling and The second RF cavity is intended to path. This radiation is carried vacuum system of the radio fre- increase the volume of each bunch, by units of light called pho- quency cavities, which accelerate the thereby decreasing the repulsive tons. It has been Known since electrons to the operating energy forces and increasing the beam life- the last part of the, nineteenth and restore to them the energy they time. The complication is that the century that electrons radiate give up to synchrotron radiation. volume increase must be accom- photons when they are accel This improvement will result in a plished by stretching the bunches in erated. In fact, that's the basic longer lifetime for the electron beam the longitudinal direction so that the " physics ^behind radio and TV as it circulates around the ring. New electrons continue to be well-focused signals. Which come from power supplies, which provide cur- vertically. The special RF cavity is accelerating electrons., rent for the magnets that contain being used in machine studies in At the low energiesinvolved and guide the electrons, are also order to evaluate the viability of the in radio and TV transmission, being installed to increase the stabil- device. the radiation pattern from the ity of the electron orbit. _ orbiting electrons forms a Another important upgrade is the Plans for a Compact doughnut shape and radiation addition of 26 new beam lines, along Synchrotron is emittenuttesynchrotrons., were " more intensity than conventional In March 1987, the NSLS received infrared sources. Vibrational spec- built in the f940's for the $750,000 from the U.S. Department study of elementary particles. troscopy and infrared absorption of Defense as seed money to begin experiments are planned. these reWivistic effects were designing sources for x-ray litho- first observed. Then it was A wiggler called a transverse opti- graphy. The long-range plan is to found that the intense radia- cal klystron, which greatly increases build both a small conventional ring tion emitted by* the electrons beam intensity, was installed on the and an even smaller, prototypical *madeit difficult to accelerate U-13 straight section of the VUV ring. ring that would use superconduct- them, because the radiated This device is needed to develop a ing magnets. energy had to be6 replaced. free electron laser, which uses elec- In x-ray lithography, circuit pat- Because this intense radiatien trons that are free from the confines terns are printed at very high resolu- was first seen in a synchro of atoms to produce brighter, tun- tion on silicon wafers, usi-.ig soft x- tron, it was cabled "synchro- able laser beams. Free electron lasers rays produced by electrons have potential applications in spec- circulating in a synchrotron storage (Continued on next page.) troscopy. high resolution meas- ring such as the NSLS. Because 10

I Continued Irom previous page.

tron^radiation ' or "synchro tron light." Years later, scientists realized that Savn chrotron radiation had exper imental potential all its, own. Radiation from a synchro1' tron source has several advan tages. For one. it has a con. tinuous-electromagnetic spectrum that ranges all the way from x rays to micro waves. At the NSLS. radiation in the x ray and ultraviolet light spectral Regions are primarily selected for expen ments. Also, synchrotron radiation is very bright, which allows experiments at very high resolution (spatial, energy or angular) a partita ular advantage when examin ing small samples with sophisticated techniques. In; the NSI^S, electrons are accelerated down a linear IBM Corporation is one of the industrial corporations doing research at the accelerator into a txxister NSLS. Working in a clean room at a beam line on the vacuum ultraviolet ring is ring, where- they are taken to IBM's Jerry Silverman. part of a team developing x-ray lithography. X-ray litho- energies of about 750 million graphy is recognized as the leading technology for fabrication of microcircuits electron volts. They are then in the 1990's. injected into two separate rings - the vacuum ultravio let Vf\" ring, which has a microchip circuitry is becoming The Light Fantastic diameter of about 50 feet, and smaller, present-day opticaJ produc- the x raV ring, with a diameter tion techniques for making inte- When the Light Source began of about 180 feet. TJhe x ray grated circuits are reaching their operating in 1982, the experimental ring is optimized for hard x limits of resolution. With optical floor of the VUV ring, the first of the rays at around 2.5 angstroms techniques, the minimum feature two rings to come on line, was in wavefength. and the-VTV size on a chip is in the range of a already bristling with beam lines ring is optimized for what are half micron. Using x-ray lithography, and equipment. Today, the ring itself called soft x rays, around 25 the feature size would drop to less is hidden by all the additional exper- angstroms in wavelength. than a quarter micron. imental hardware that has accom- To remain competitive in the panied the rapid growth in machine The electrons,are actually users. Now, the best view of the ring injected into the rings in international market, the U.S. semi- conductor industry needs synchro- is from an experimental station on a pulses and stored in bunches platform twelve feet in the air, built until enough have accumu trons to produce x-rays for litho- graphy, and these machines must be to accommodate an experiment for lated to provide the needed which there was no space on the intensity for experiments. As cost-effective and, thus, as compact as possible. Already. IBM is conduct- floor. The x-ray ring has had a sim- the electrons travel around ilar evolution. the rings, fhey pass through ing x-ray lithography research at the radio frequency cavities, VUV ring of the NSLS. Their goal is to To make the NSLS available to as which replace the energy they develop an economical process of many researchers as possible. lose to synchrotron radiation, making chips with smaller compo- Brookhaven introduced the concept and through magnets, which nents. As the size of the components of Participating Research Teams bend and focus them. on computer chips is reduced, com- (PKTs). which may include the puters can operate faster and more Laboratory's own scientists, as well efficientlv. as outside researchers. These teams 11

generally collaborate on scientific front research and has helped indus- programs and on designing and tries maintain and extend their building the required beam lines competitiveness in high technology and instrumentation. In return for areas. The payoff has been signifi- this investment, each PRT has prior- cant research in such fields as ity for 75 percent of its beam line's microimaging. which includes x-ray time. General users, who usually microscopy, holography and micro- have a less continuing need for a tomography; and in high resolution beam line, are scheduled for the studies of electronic and physical remaining time on PRT beam lines, structures. as well as for lines built specifically In the years ahead, the NSLS will for general users. Proprietary continue to support the innovative research can also be done, at full- research that is so important to the cost recovery. future of science and technology. From the beginning, the NSLS has That commitment is what draws the offered university and government scientific community to Brookhaven. scientists the opportunity to do fore- to use "the light fantastic."

The vacuum ultraviolet ring qfthe NSLS bristles with beam lines and experimental equipment. 12 The Big Machines

conduct experiments on our big machines. Industrial researchers are encour- aged to use the facilities, and the Office of Research and Technology Applications has been set up to assist them. Outside users who wish to retain title to inventions or data generated during work at Brook- haven may do so by entering into a proprietary user's agreement with the Laboratory. National Synchrotron Light Source The world's brightest source of x- rays and ultraviolet radiation, the National Synchrotron Light Source is used for basic and applied studies in condensed matter, surface stud- ies, photochemistry and photo- physics, lithography, crystallography, small-angle scattering and x-ray microscopy. By the end of 1987. the national user community had risen to about 900 scientists from 125 institutions, up from about 350 scientists from 68 institutions in 1985. Alternating Gradient Synchrotron Since 1960. the Alternating Gra- dient Synchrotron (AGS) has been accelerating protons to probe the fundamental characteristics of mat- Brent Nelson records beam line temperature and expansion in the newly con- ter. Today, the AGS has become the structed, heavy ion transfer line, which supplies the Alternating Gradient Syn- most versatile accelerator in the chrotron with heavy ionsjrom the Tandem Van de Graaff accelerator. world. Besides the regular proton pro- gram, which can provide the most rookhaven's unique range of intense beams of kaons available large-scale research facilities anywhere, the AGS can also acceler- Bnot only permits our scientists ate polarized protons up to 22 GeV to seek new knowledge under excel- and heavy ions up to 14.6 GeV/nu- lent conditions, but also attracts cleon. The heavy ions became availa- researchers from many universities, ble with the construction of a beam industries and other laboratories. A transfer line between the AGS and strong spirit of cooperation charac- the Tandem Van de Graaff accelera- terizes research done at the Labora- tor, the source of heavy ions. tory, and. each year, about 1.800 Important discoveries at the AGS scientists and students visit the include the J/psi particle and CP vio- Laboratory for varying periods to lation, both of which won Nobel 13

prizes in physics, as well as the Omega-minus particle, the muon- neutrino and the first charmed baryon. In 1987. some 660 researchers representing 100 insti- tutions performed experiments at this facility. High Flux Beam Reactor In 1965, years of engineering design, physics calculations and careful construction produced the High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR), a source of particularly pure thermal neutrons. Since then, fundamental problems in solid state and nuclear physics and in structural biology and chemistry have been investi- gated with these thermal neutrons. An average of 15 to 20 experiment- al teams of researchers use the reac- tor at any given time. All told, in 1987, about 200 scientists from institutions all over the world came In the foreground is the National Synchrotron Light Source, with the dome of to conduct studies at the HFBR. the High Flux Beam Reactor in the center of the picture, further back.

Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope Electrons have been used by the Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM) since 1975 to image biological specimens and measure the masses of proteins, nucleic acids and complexes of the two. The image resolution of 2.5 angstroms is so clear that, in many cases, special staining of specimens to show up different areas is unnecessary. In 1984, a second high resolution STEM microscope was transferred to Brookhaven by The Johns Hopkins University. This second STEM is designed to obtain chemical infor- mation using the electron-energy- loss spectroscopy technique. The STEMs at Brookhaven are two of the world's only three high- resolution microscopes that can eas- ily image single heavy atoms. In 1987, 75 rearchers from 10 outside institutions used the STEMs for their work.

Joseph Wall (left) and James Hainfeld at work using the Scanning Transmis- sion Electron Microscope. 14 Alternating Gradient Synchrotron Department

The AGS Department operates the Alternating Gradient Syn- chrotron (AGS), the centerpiece of Brookhaven's high energy physics program. In recent years, with the completion of a transfer tunnel between the Tandem Van de Graaff and the AGS, heavy ions have joined protons and polarized protons as the particles of choice for researchers who come from all over the world to do their experiments at the AGS. The latest project to get under way is construction of the Accumulator- Booster, which will greatly enhance both the nuclear and high energy physics programs at the Laboratory.

protons, pions and kaons. as well as the small angle correlations between Heavy Ions — these particles, in order to under- stand under what conditions they are created. A New Probe for the AGS At the heart of the experiment are a single-arm spectrometer contain- Heavy ion experiments have begun at the AGS, thanks to ing a magnet to bend the charged that machine's new capability of accelerating these particles, drift chambers to measure how much they are bent, and a high- massive particles. resolution time-ol-flight (TOF) system to identify them. The TOF system can new era of physics research Brookhaven's source of heavy ions, measure differences of 1O"10 seconds began at Brookhaven's Alter- the Tandem Van de Graaff Accelera- (a tenth of a billionth of a second) in A nating Gradient Synchro- tor. Construction of a beam transfer arrival times, which provides good tron (AGS) In October 1986. when a line was finished in early 1986, and particle identification. beam of oxygen ions went whirling beam commissioning with oxygen around the AGS tunnel and smashed ions proceeded apace, culminating The experiment has collected data into the target of an experiment. in the first experimental run in using silicon and oxygen ions to Up until then, the 27-year-old AGS October. In March 1987, silicon ions bombard various targets — includ- had provided researchers with pro- were the next heavy ion particles to ing carbon, aluminum, copper and tons and polarized protons, for var- be accelerated in the AGS. Sulfur gold — to determine the effects ions are soon to follow. caused by the size of the colliding ious high energy physics experi- objects. ments. The addition of oxygen ions Three major heavy ion experi- marked a new role for the AGS — as ments are under way. A summary of a key player in relativistic heavy ion each follows. Experiment 810 — physics. It's a new frontier that has Global Characteristics attracted an unusual combination of Experiment 802 — The main thrust of E810 is to scientists: nuclear physicists, who measure the global characteristics of traditionally study particles within Good Particle ID as many particles as can be tracked the nucleus at low energies: and The first major heavy ion physics when oxygen or silicon ions collide high energy physicists, who investi- experiment to collect data. Experi- with targets such as carbon or gold. gate particle interactions at ment 802 (E802). tracks a small In this kind of heavy ion experi- extremely high energies. number of particles and, thus, is able ment, where the collisions involve This new capability was the result to do a more complete job of identify- massive particles (particles bigger of a construction effort that began in ing them. The experiment can and heavier than protons) at high 1984 to connect the AGS with determine the characteristics of energies, the same family of particles 15

is expected to be produced as would result from a proton/proton experi- ment, in which as much or more energy is put into a small volume. The difference is that the character- istics (such as energy and number) of the produced particles should change, reflecting the volume and density effects that are expected when two large objects collide. One challenge of E810 is that the collisions will result in a tremendous spray of particles, making it difficult for a detector to differentiate among them. That's why a special kind of detector called a time projection chamber (TPC) will be used. A rela- tively new device, a TPC gives a three- dimensional position along a parti- cle's track, providing less confusion when there are many particles. E8I0's TPC will he the first one built at the AGS. Experiment 814 — Nuclear Collisions Most of the drive in physics exper- iments is to see what happens in central collisions — collisions where the nuclei collide head-on. E814 will examine central collisions by meas- uring the energy deposition and dis- tribution of a total event. The exper- iment will also examine very peripheral collisions where the oxy- Ole Hansen stands at the target multiplicity detector of heavy ion Experiment gen ion passes by the target nucleus 802 at the AGS. Heavy ions travel inside the evacuated tube (marked 'fragile") without colliding but is excited into from right to left A target is placed inside the tube approximately in the middle an unstable state. of the picture. Particles created by collisions between a heavy ion (oxygen or silicon) and a target nucleus are emitted mostly in the forward direction (to the left). These particles travel through the wall of the beam pipe and hit the detec- What Lies Ahead tor, which counts the particles hitting it and also retains information on where it was hit Historically, research with relativ- istic heavy ions has been restricted to low energies, such as 2.1 billion nucleus. The Tandem can provide of heavy ion species all the way up to electron volts (GeV) per nucleon at fully stripped heavy ions only up to gold. the Bevalac at the Lawrence Berkeley sulfur with the necessary energy and Looking beyond the Booster, the Laboratory. Brookhaven's Tandem/ intensity to allow for acceleration in future of heavy ion physics at AGS link results in heavy ions accel- the AGS. Brookhaven lies with a machine erated to 14.6 GeV/nucleon, a giant To gain a full range of heavy ions called the Relativistic Heavy Ion Col- step into the realm of high energy. with which to experiment, Brook- lider (RHIC), which the Laboratory The current configuration of facili- haven has just begun construction has proposed constructing (see RHIC ties, however, limits the acceleration of a new accelerator, called the story on page 20). In RHIC, heavy ion of heavy ions to species with masses Accumulator-Booster (see Booster beams would collide head-on with a no higher than sulfur. The reason is story on page 22). Heavy ions from combined energy of 200 GeV/nu- that, in order to be accelerated in the the Tandem will go into the Booster, cleon for gold with gold. At those AGS. ions must be fully stripped, hav- where they will be accelerated and energies, it is possible to recreate the ing no stray, negatively charged elec- stripped before being sent on to the conditions that existed at the first trons circulating around the AGS. This will allow the acceleration moments of the universe. 16 SEB — The Multipurpose Beam

Over its lifetime. Brookhaven's Alternating Gradient Synchro- tron (AGS) has accelerated more protons than any other high energy machine in the world. The protons can be extracted Jrom the accelerator in three different modes, each one ideal for different types of experiments. For high statistics experi- ments, the slowly extracted beam mode is best

ne second out of every three — that's the rate at which Oprotons exit Brookhaven's Alternating Gradient Synchrotron (AGS) when it operates in its slowly extracted beam (SEB) mode. Slowly extracted beam, which the AGS de- livered during Its 14 weeks of opera- tion in fiscal year 1987, is ideal for experiments that use electronic detectors to gather large amounts of data. In particular, three areas of high energy physics — rare kaon decays, spectroscopy and radiative hyperon decays —are well-served by the SEB mode of operation. Rare Kaon Decays Perhaps the most exciting new physics being done at the AGS is the search for rare kaon decays. These decays are considered rare because they have never been seen in exper- iments. Some are forbidden by the standard model, which is the current view of particle physics, but they are allowed in most theories beyond the standard model. Thus, finding rare kaon decays will point the way to new physics. Four experiments, three involving Brookhaven physicists, are looking for different rare decay modes of kaons. These experiments are being done at the AGS because it is the best accelerator for these studies. Besides being the world's most pro- lific producer of kaons, the AGS also has the right energy range to make particle identification easier, which is crucial to these experiments. TWo experiments. E780 and E791, are seeking the decay of a long-lived George Martin stands next to a spectrometer magnet for Experiment 777, one of neutral kaon (KL) into a muon and the several rare kaon decay experiments at the AGS. an electron {fie). 17

The kaon is made up of a quark- Spectroscopy ing into a down quark and a gamma antiquark pair, one of which carries ray. Additional decay modes are also a characteristic called strangeness. In general, spectroscopy experi- possible. Experimental confirmation The electron and muon are leptons. ments search for as yet undiscovered has proven difficult, in particular, for Leptons and quarks are thought to exotic particles or unusual combina- the decay of the lambda hyperon into be the fundamental constituents of tions of particles. a neutron and a garnma ray. matter. Quantum chromodynamics (QCD), a theory of quarks and their interac- High Temperature Three lepton generations are tions, holds that quarks are bound known, each generation having its together by gluons. Nothing in the Superconductivity own lepton number. There are posi- theory forbids particles containing The roster of AGS experiments tive and negative electrons, along only gluons bound to one another using the SEB mode of operation with their associated neutrinos and (gluonium or glueballs) or hybrid includes one not in the realm of high antineutrinos: next, positive and states formed of exotic combinations energy physics. negative muons and their neutrinos: of quarks and gluons. E796 is studying the magnetic and finally, positive and negative tau One spectroscopy experiment. field inside the newly discovered leptons and their neutrinos and E820. is looking for strange dibary- high critical temperature supercon- antineutrinos. Similarly, three quark ons. Baryons are made up of three of ductors. The experiment may yield generations are recognized: up and the various quarks. Examples are valuable information about the down with their anti-quarks; strange the proton, which is comprised of mechanism of high temperature and charmed with their anti- two up quarks and one down quark superconducti vi ty. particles; and the top (or truth) and (uud). and the neutron, which is bottom (or beauty) quarks and their made of two down quarks and one antiquarks. (The top quark has not up (ddu). The strange dibaryon con- yet been detected.) tains strange quarks such as If a kaon decays into an electron uuddds, for which E820 is and a muon, or into a pion, electron searching. and muon, that would be a violation A future experiment, E836. will of lepton generation number conser- look for a doubly strange dibaryon vation. This has never been observed (udsuds). Such a particle is pre- and is forbidden by the standard dicted in the BAG model, which model. allows one to calculate how quarks are confined. Dibaryons are con- A complementary experiment, sidered exotic inasmuch as all well- E777, is searching for the decay of K established particles discovered to plus (K*) to pi plus, mu plus and a date are either baryons (three negative electron [ir'n'e). Although quarks), mesons (quark and anti- E777 starts with charged kaons, the quark), leptons, gluons, or the gauge physics of this experiment is similar bosons (W, Z and 7). to that of the two neutral kaon E747 has produced evidence for experiments in that it would also the existence of particles containing show a violation of lepton number only gluons, while another experi- conservation. ment, E818, which is scheduled to Experiment 787 is searching for run in fiscal year 1988, will be the decay of a positive kaon into a searching for hybrid states positive pion and a neutrino and (hermaphrodites). antineutrino (nvv), as well as the decay of a positive kaon into any as Hyperon Decays yet undiscovered weakly interacting Like protons, hyperons are made neutral particles. The decays in up of three quarks. Since one or question do not violate lepton more of the quarks are strange, how- number. Instead, this experiment ever, hyperons are heavier than could be sensitive to additional protons. generations of quarks and leptons. Experiment 811 seeks a better Theory does not limit quarks and understanding weak radiative decay leptons to three generations, of hyperons. ("Radiative" means a although there exists experimental gamma ray is emitted.) In its simp- evidence that the number of genera- lest form, this decay consists of the tions is less than seven. strange quark in the hyperon decay- 18 A Boost Jor Physics Although it will only be one-quarter the size oftheAGS, the Accumulator-Booster, now under construction, will quad- ruple proton intensity in theAGS, a boon Jor proton experi- ments. In addition, polarized protons will increase by a factor of twenty. and heavy ion experiments will be able to use any ion species, up to gold.

Kelvin Li Heft) and Ted Kycia at Experiment 787. In the background is the large detector for this rare K decay experiment.

i rookhaven's Alternating Gra- take about three years, with com- > dient Synchrotron (AGS) has missioning in FY91. "been generating protons for Coupled to the AGS. the Booster high energy and nuclear physics will increase proton intensity in that experiments for nearly three accelerator by a factor of four. decades. With construction begun Instead of accelerating 15 trillion on the Accumulator-Booster, a new protons per pulse (p/p). the AGS will range of experiments is planned. be able to accelerate 50-60 trillion The Booster project was approved p/p. by the federal government in fiscal The gain in protons will give year 1986(FY86)and ground- experimenters the ability to look for breaking took place in September rarer processes. Often, rare processes 1987. Construction is expected to provide a window on understanding 19

very high energy phenomena. This, instead, the decay of KL (neutral K Polarized Protons and in ium, can lead to greater under- long) into jue (a muon and an elec- standing of the fundamental forces tron). The experiment will sift Heavy Ions between particles — for example, the through about 10u KL decays, and All the experiments described strong force, which binds protons observation of any KL—/ue decays above will use unpolarized protons. and neutrons in the nucleus, and would imply new physics — the first The AGS. however, also accelerates the weak force, which is responsible demonstration of the violation of polarized protons, which spin in the for radioactive decay. separate lepton number con- same direction, as well as heavy ions, servation. atoms that have been stripped of Proton Experiments their electrons and whose nuclei This empirical conservation law contain many protons and neutrons. At present, protons are injected holds that particles in the lepton The Booster will also enhance the into the AGS from the Linac, which family can only be paired with cer- experimental programs that require preaccelerates them to an energy of tain complementary particles. these particles. 200 million electron volts (MeV). Muons, for example, can only be When completed, the Booster will created with either muons of the For polarized protons, the Booster provide an intermediate acceleration opposite charge or with muon-type will accumulate the protons during stage between the Linac and the neutrinos. Electrons only appear the AGS acceleration cycle and AGS. taking protons from 200 MeV with either positive electrons (posi- increase the intensity of polarized and boosting them to 1.5 billion elec- trons) or with electron-type protons by a factor of 20. Experi- tron volts (GeV) before sending them neutrinos. ments will focus on scattering polar- ized protons off polarized proton an to the AGS. Because of this higher Several other experiments that energy, the AGS can accept four targets. The higher intensity wil! require the Booster are in various allow studies of spin-spin effects at imes as many protons; four Booster planning stages. One experiment. pulses, each with the present AGS much smaller collision distances. E821, will test the electroweak As for heavy ions, the AGS now :urrent, will be used to fill the AGS, theory, a relatively new theory that quadrupling its current. accepts from the Tandem Van de combines the weak and electromag- Graaff only those species up to sil- Two new proton experiments that netic forces into a single theoretical icon, which has an atomic mass of lave already begun under the pres- framework. The experiment's results 28. With the Booster placed between ;nt AGS program will achieve maxi- may be interpreted as a measure- the Tandem and AGS. the AGS will be mum results when the Booster is in ment of the structure of the muon. able to accelerate heavy ion species place. The precession of a particle's spin all the way up to gold, mass 197. Experiment 787 is searching for as it moves in a magnetic field is a Clearly, the Booster will make pos- kaon (K) decays, specifically, the measure of the magnetic moment of sible a much wider range of physics decay of a positively charged K into that particle. A particle's magnetic at the AGS. Looking further into the ir*vv (a positively charged pion and a moment is a measure of its struc- future, it also paves the way for the neutrino and an antineutrino). ture. If the spin precisely tracks the Laboratory's proposed Relativistic Using a large detector that com- change in the particle's direction in Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). pletely surrounds an area where the the field, the particle would be obey- The Booster will complete the kaons produced by the AGS protons ing the old theory of Dirac. string of accelerators that are needed will stop in a target, the experiment 11 In fact, however, the muon to inject gold ions into RHIC, an will sort through 10 normal kaon deviates from this precise tracking accelerator in which heavy particles decays to search for a few examples by one part in one thousand, and will collide at high energies to form this deviation is understood exqui- quark-gluon plasma. This form of This extreme sensitivity will be a sitely well by modern-day theory to a matter is thought to have existed in severe test of the standard model, few parts in a million (106). E821 will the first microseconds after the birth which predicts that few such decays put the theory to a severe test, of the universe. should be seen. If many more decays measuring the deviation to three Also possible in RHIC will be polar- are observed, this would indicate parts in 106. This requires Booster ized proton experiments in which that there may be another genera- intensities. very high polarized proton interac- tion of quarks and leptons, particles The experiment will proceed as fol- tion rates will offer a unique oppor- thought to be the fundamental con- lows: Protons from the AGS will pro- tunity to study weak interaction stituents of matter The experiment duce pions. which will then decay to phenomena such as the decay of the is also looking for possible new neu- muons. The muons will be trapped W-boson particle — resarch that has trinos, a new type of photon, or other in a small magnetic ring, where the never before been done. new particles (such as the Goldstone direction of the muon spin will be boson and Higgs boson). observed. Deviations from the theory A second experiment, E791. is also could be explained, for example, by looking for rare K decays, but. the presence of muon substructure. 20 Accelerator Development Department Formed in May 1986, the Accelerator Development Depart- ment (ADD) plays a key role in designing, building and oper- ating the new generation of high energy and nuclear particle accelerators at the Laboratory. ADD consolidates Brook- haven's activities in the technical development of the Laboratory's proposed Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider and in the construction of the Accumulator-Booster for the Alter- nating Gradient Synchrotron. The department is also responsible for our contribution to the nationally proposed Superconducting Super Collider program.

conducting dipole and quadrupole magnets to bend and focus the heavy The Promise qfRHIC ions as they race around the ring. Most of these will be positioned in Brookhaven has proposed building the Relativistic Heavy the six arcs of the RHIC tunnel. The Ion Collider, which offers a new area of scientific study for remaining set will be insertion dipoles and quadrupoles placed in both nuclear and elementary particle physicists. the straighter sections of the tunnel, where the beams will collide. In addi- o catch a glimpse of the In RHIC, two beams of heavy ions tion, there will be about 800 super- universe at the moment of will speed in opposite directions conducting sextupoles and small Tthe Big Bang... and not just around a pair of rings in a tunnel corrector magnets, which are once, but over and over again — almost 2.5 miles in circumference. required for proper operation of this that's the promise of BNL's proposed Where the beams collide, at six dif- type of accelerator. Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). ferent points around the accelerator, The most demanding of these RHIC will be able to create matter each collision will have a combined magnets to construct are the arc at extremely high temperatures and energy of 200 billion electron volts dipoles, of which four full-length, or densities. This will make possible per nucleon. Collisions that combine 9.7-meter, arc dipoles have been con- studies of the fundamental proper- heavy nuclei at extremely high ener- structed and tested, all exceeding the ties of matter in a state in which the gies are the key to creating quark- 3.5-tesIa field strength required for primordial quarks and gluons are no 6.uon plasma. operation at full beam energy. Con- longer confined as constituents of In fiscal year 1987, the RHIC pro- struction has also begun on a pair of the nuclei of ordinary particles. Such posal passed a critical review by the arc dipoles for which small adjust- nuclear matter is called quark-gluon federal Department of Energy (DOE). ments have been made to the super- plasma It has never been seen The next step for the project is to be conducting coil, and a new cryostat before, and it offers a whole new area included in DOE's future budget that will be cheaper and easier to of scientific study for both nuclear plans. Then, Presidential and Con- assemble has been designed. Recent and elementary particle physicists. gressional approval will be required. magnet work has also been Essentially, the DOE review verified expanded to include construction BNL's conceptual design study for all and testing of arc quadrupoles and systems of the collider, which was of sextupoles. done in order to make a reasonable In addition to magnet work, cost estimate and a schedule of important progress has been made construction. in accelerator physics. As a collider Magnet research and development of heavy ions rather than protons. is one of the programs carried out in RHIC is a unique machine: hence, support of this study over the last new design problems have had to be two years. RHIC will use 864 super- resolved. 21

What's in a Name? I he name "Relativistu Heavy Ion Collider seems a mouthful at first J hi*S is what '.t means • Relativistu descriltes something traveling near the spet'd of light • in this case heavu ions • Ions are atoms that have lost or gamed one or more electrons Heavy ions are so called because their nuclei contain manu protons and neutrons • A collider is an accelerator inithich two beams of parti clfs circulate in opposite directions and collide (if var [oits points around a ring' When the words are put together they aptly describe KilH s job to collide beams of heavy ions at relativistu speeds. Actually. KHK can be tliought of a.s theifinal runner in a relay "team. The heavy ions will originate in HNl.'s existing Tandem Van de (Iraafi. proceed into the Boos ter now under construction , then into the existing Alter nating Gradient Synchrotron, and finally into RHIC. Each • machine along the way plays a vital role, helping the heavy ions to travel ever faster, but RHK is the one to bring in the baton. Raymond Ceruti (left) and Robert And the radio frequency voltage, Kehl inspect one half of a RHIC which holds together the heavy ion magnet assembly, which consists bunches, has to be substantially of a superconducting coil inside greater. an iron yoke. There are many more components to the collider design, such as power supplies, vacuum systems, beam For example, because heavy ions injection and beam dump, beam have a bigger charge than protons, instrumentation and a control sys- collisions of particles within a beam tem. Most of these components have result in greater scattering; thus, the more conventional requirements. magnet aperture (the passageway for Nevertheless, a machine the size and the heavy ions) has to be bigger to complexity of RHIC requires careful accommodate the increased scatter- attention to all its parts. Brookhaven ing. Also due to the characteristics of is committed to building a world the heavier particles, more quadru- class machine for use by an interna- poles are needed to focus the beams. tional community of physicists. 22 The AGS Gets a Boost

The Accumulator-Booster project was approved by the fed- eral government in FY86, and a ground-breaking ceremony in late FY87 marked the beginning of construction. The Booster will be coupled to the AGS, the Laboratory's exist- ing high energy particle accelerator, greatly enhancing that machine's physics program.

n September 11. 1987. an from accelerating 15 trillion protons enthusiastic "rowd gathered per pulse (p/p) to 50-60 trillion p/p. Ofor a ground breaking This is a boonjor the present high ceremony. The star of the day was energy physics program, because the Accumulator-Booster accelerator physicists now need ever larger — the keystone of the future high numbers of protons to measure such energy physics/heavy ion physics currently interesting phenomena as program at BNL. rare kaon decays and neutrino Construction of the Booster was oscillations. approved by the federal government in fiscal year 1986 (FY86). With a • Increase the intensity of polar- total estimated cost of S31.7 million, ized protons by a factor of 20. the project received SI.9 million in AGS experimenters who use pro- FY86 and $2.5 in FY87. It is in the tons that spin in the same direction Presidential budget for the following (polarized) will see an increase year for S8.3 million. from 20 billion to 400 billion p/p. When completed and coupled to This will be achieved because the the Laboratory's present high energy Booster can also Junction as a stor- accelerator, the Alternating Gradient c-Je ring, accumulating up to 20 Synchrotron (AGS). the Booster will individual pulses of protonsJrom increase every aspect of the AGS the Linac before injecting them into physics program many times over. the AGS. Even more important, the Booster • Allow the AGS to accelerate all will complete the string of accelera- the heavy ion species the Tandem tors that are necessary to BNL's pro- Van de Graaff accelerator can posed Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider generate. (RHrc). Completed in 1986 was a transfer Specifically, here's what the Boos- line to link the AGS with the Tan- ter will do: dem, for experiments at the AGS • Increase proton intensity by a with heavy ions (atoms that have factor of Jour. been stripped of their electrons). At present, particles pre-accel- The Tandem/AGS link, however, erated in the Linac to an energy of limits the acceleration of heavy ions 200 million electron volts (MeV)Jor to species with masses no higher injection into the AGS must increase than sulfur, mass 32. That's to 30 billion electron volts (GeV) because, in order to be accelerated when they exit the AGS, a process in the AGS. ions must be virtually during which many protons are lost fully stripped, having no stray, neg- Providing an intermediate stage atively charged electrons circulat- between the Linac and the AGS, the ing around the nucleus. Booster will take protons from 200 The Tandem canjully strip only MeV and boost them to 1.5 GeV. the heavy ions up to sulfur. More mas- The sign marks the center of the higher injection energy enabling the sive heavy ions can be only par- Booster ring, which will be 200 meters AGS to ki ep many more protons in tially stripped, and to be acceler- in circumference. the beam. Hence, the AGS will go ated, they require a much higher 23

vacuum than theAGS has. For that Finally, although the magnets reason, the Booster's vacuum sys- used to bend and focus the particles tem will operate at an ultra-low as (hey travel the circumference of pressure of 3 X 10'" Torr. which will the Booster's 200-me(er ring will be allow the acceleration of heavy ion of standard construction, they must species all the u*ay up to gold. operate with high precision in order With the Booster in place, then, to handle polarized protons. This physicists at the AGS will have a full past year, we built four prototype range of heavy ions with which to magnets — three dipoles and one experiment. And looking into the quadrupole. All did well in tests. future, the Booster completes the The next three years will see actual injection system required for the construction of the machine, with proposed RH1C, an accelerator in completion expected in FY90 and which heavy particles will collide at commissioning in FY91. high energies, thus recreating the conditions that existed at the first moments after the creation of the universe (see RHIC story on page 20). In FY86, we finished the prelimi- nary design of conventional con- struction on the Booster — tunnel, buildings and services (electricity, water and ventilation!. This year, we have refined that original design. As for the accelerator itself, certain characteristics have had to be addressed to satisfy the require- ments of the three different kinds of particles that will be handled. First of all, the machine has to have a fast repetition rate. That is. it must cycle up to a high magnetic field and down to a low field seven to eight times a second, in order to accelerate the protons. Also, as mentioned ear- lier, the Booster must have a better vacuum to accelerate heavy ions with mass numbers greater than sulfur. And to accommodate the wide range of velocity of all the heavy ions that will come from the Tandem, the Booster will have a three-stage accel- eration system. Each one of these characteristics — fast cycling, high vacuum and multi-stage acceleration — has been achieved before at other accelerators, but never all three together. Crucial to the three-stage acceleration system are the ferrite- fllled radio frequency (rf) cavities, Laboratory Director Nicholas Samios whose job it is to hold the particles speaks at the groundbreaking together in bunches as they are ceremony held September 11. 1987. for the Accumulator-Booster. With him accelerated. Because the quantity of on the platform are (from left) Robert ferrite determines both the Adair. Associate Director for High frequency and field of the cavity, we Energy and Nuclear Physics: Booster have had to do extensive testing of rf Project Head William Weng; and Eric cavities filled with various amounts Forsyth. Chairman of the Accelerator of ferrite. Development Department. 24 Super Magnets For a Super Collider Superconducting magnets are the heart of the nationally proposed Superconducting Super Collider (SSC). Brook- haven's contribution to the SSC research and development program is in the area of magnet design. n January 1987, the nationally Compared to conventional proposed Superconducting magnets, superconducting magnets ISuper Collider (SSC) received can carry much higher currents and Presidential endorsement. Although therefore produce much higher field Congressional approval is still pend- strengths. Additionally, once started, ing on what would be the world's they can run indefinitely on nothing most powerful and advanced particle but the power required to keep them accelerator, work has gone ahead at at the necessary temperature. Brookhaven on perhaps the most For a large particle accelerator like critical element in the machine — its the SSC, superconducting magnets magnets. are a must. Otherwise, the cost of In the SSC, these magnets will electricity to run the machine would guide two beams of protons speeding be prohibitive. Also, since less pow- in opposite directions in two rings erful magnets would not be able to around a track fifty-two miles in cir- bend the proton beams into a cumference. At six points around the reasonable circumference, the size of track, the proton beams will collide the track would be so large that it head-on with a combined energy of would be difficult to build anywhere. 40 X 1012, or 40 trillion, electron Working toward a final magnet volts. Each collision will result in a design for the SSC, Brookhaven fin- shower of subnuclear particles, per- ished building and testing a total of haps even new and exotic ones. But six 4.5-meter and two 3.5-meter, or even more important, by analyzing roughly one-third-size, magnets in the debris of particles created by the spring of 1986. They all reached these collisions, physicists may find their design field, near the SSC's more clues to the ultimate structure design specifications for field of matter and the nature of the for- strength of 6.6 teslas (T) at a ces that govern its behavior. temperature of 4.35 kelvins (near To bend and focus the proton absolute zero). beams, the accelerator will require Now, we are in the process of some 10,000 magnets of a size that building a series of full-length, 16.6- has never been made before. The meter (55-foot) prototype magnets. technology involved in building Already, four have been completed these magnets, however, is an area and two have been tested at Fermi in which Brookhaven has been National Accelerator Laboratory in working for many years. Illinois. Superconductivity is the principle These first fuil-length magnets on which these magnets are based. have reached 6 T, just short of the At very low temperatures, certain 6.6 T specification. We expect suc- materials lose all trace of their elec- cessive magnets will go up in trical resistivity and become super- strength as more research and conductors. If an electric current is development is done on the started in a superconducting loop niobium-titanium superconductor and the power is then turned off, the itself, which is made at Lawrence current will continue to flow virtually Berkeley Laboratory in California. forever —as long as the temperature The tests at Fermilab also evaluate is maintained below a critical value. the magnets' field quality, and in 25

this, the prototypes have also done proton current. The copper lining Arthur Wernersbach Jr. works on a well. A magnefs field does the job of provides the necessary low 16.6-meter.full-length prototype keeping the protons on a circular resistance. magnet Jor the Superconducting Super track. Like someone riding in a One more parameter on the check Collider. limousine on a smooth highway, the list is the performance of each protons should not feel any bumps magnet's trim coils, which are also as they race around the track, as made of superconducting wire these would make perturbations located on the exterior surface of the that would cause the protons to be beam tube. By passing current lost. through these coils, fine adjustments The field quality tests are being can be made to the magnetic field to done with a probe developed at BNL. provide control of the proton beam. Basically, the instrument is pulled Here again. BNL's trim coils have through the small aperture in the successfully passed muster. magnet's beam pipe, where the pro- Superconducting magnets are not tons would travel, measuring the new: they have been used since 1983 characteristics of the field as it in Fermilab's Tevatron. Previous moves along. experience with conventional Another success has been with the magnets in other accelerators has copper lining that BNL researchers also paved the way for the SSC developed for the beam tube. Being a magnets. Still, the SSC will be 20 good conductor, the copper reduces times more powerful than the Teva- beam impedance. As the proton tron, and its stronger magnets are beam circulates inside the tube, it inevitably more difficult to build. induces a so-called image current of Brookhaven will build approximately electrons that follows along. This ten more in fiscal year 1988 as the image current must encounter only next step in the research and devel- low resistance, or it will perturb the opment program for these magnets. 26 Physics Department Researchers in the Physics Department probe the world at the submicroscopic level. Specialists in theoretical and experimental high energy physics, nuclear physics and solid state physics study the fundamental constituents of matter. They seek to understand the forces through which these constituents interact to form nucleons, nuclei, atoms and ordinary matter. In Search of a Rare Event High energy physicists are searching/or evidence of an radioactive decay of particles and event that has never been observed — the decay of a kaon nuclei, acts on the lepton family, and, thus, the electron and the muon. particle into a muon and an electron. If this decay is One theory unites the electromag- discovered, it will completely change some important netic and weak forces, and this the- theories of physics. ory predicts the existence of extra- heavy particles that carry the weak force. In 1985, the W boson, an extra- hink of 2,000 wires, each rare event — the decay of a kaon par- heavy particle carrying the weak forty inches long, less than ticle into an electron and a muon. interaction, was found at CERN, the Ta hairbreadth thick, and This event is so rare that, though European high energy physics meticulously placed only one eighth some theories say it should happen, laboratory. of an inch apart. no one has ever seen it. The W boson discovery helped con- These wires form part of a complex Electrons are the particles that firm the theory, but still did not apparatus constructed by a team of encircle the nucleus in an atom, and explain why the different genera- BNL physicists, in collaboration with they are in the lepton family. Muons, tions stayed apart. More research on researchers from Yale University. which are about 200 times heavier the weak force was needed. And so This joint experiment, named E780. than electrons, are leptons also —but the study of kaon decay, which makes use of an array of techniques they belong to a different "genera- shows the weak force in action, is in high energy physics to trace a very tion." Generation is the term used by the next step in research on how the scientists to describe sets of related generations interact. particles that always appear together At Brookhaven, four experiments in the decay of another particle. are being carried out to look for dif- As far as is known, the particles of ferent rare decay modes of kaons. one set, or generation, have never The number of experiments is partly appeared paired with those of due to the importance of the results another set. This suggests that there to physics. Every researcher in kaon may be some law that keeps the dif- decay hopes to be the first to shed ferent generations apart. But theo- light on what has come to be called rists do not yet understand the basis "the generation problem." And the of this law. reason these experiments are being Established theory in high energy done here is that Brookhaven's physics holds that there are four Alternating Gradient Synchrotron fundamental forces in nature: the (AGS), a particle accelerator, can strong force, which binds the function as a kaon factory, produc- nucleus of an atom together; gravity: ing a beam of approximately one the electromagnetic force; and the hundred million kaons per second. weak force. The weak force, which is The apparatus of experiment E780 thought to be responsible for the has been constructed to track the 27

From left BNL's William Morse, Robert Adair and Lawrence Leipuner; Henry interact with the argon, and a few Kasha of Yale University; and Richard Larsen, also qfBNL, stand next to the electrons are emitted. These are col- steel slabs used to measure the energy of the muons in Experiment 780. The lected by the wires, causing small steel has been recycled from BNL's first particle accelerator, the Cosmotron, pulses that are amplified electroni- where kaon decay experiments were begun in the 1950's by some of the same cally and recorded. As a result, the team of physicists. particle's position is known to within about one-hundredth of an possible decay of a neutral kaon into Muons, because they are so much inch. an electron and an oppositely heavier, go slower, so do not emit Once all the measurements are charged muon. (Charged kaons radiation. The electrons then stop in made, computer records of the would decay differently and so are about 20 inches of lead glass, while events are analyzed. If the paths of being observed in another the muons pass right through. The an electron and a muon with the experiment.) energy of the muons is measured by right energy and momentum can be To make kaons, a beam of hydro- how far they penetrate into the last traced all the way back through the gen ions is accelerated to an energy part of the apparatus — a thirty-foot- experiment to intersect a neutral of 30 billion volts to smash into a long stack of steel slabs, each one kaon pathway, this would indicate a target of protons and neutrons. over six feet wide and six feet high. decay that violates the generation Kaons are among the particles that Since this type of kaon decay rule. So far, of the 300 million decays are produced in the resulting debris. would be so rare, if an event occurs, checked, not one such decay has E780 starts with a beam of kaons, it is vital to get as much information occurred. But the researchers will which decay as they pass through as possible from it. All equipment is have many more events to analyze the experiment's apparatus. First, designed for absolute accuracy, and next year, when E780 will have the positions of resulting particles every detail is recorded in computer- another chance to collect more data are measured before and after they ized instruments for further at the AGS. pass through a powerful electro- analysis. If rare kaon decay is not observed, magnet. These particles then pass Just by following a small part of the present theory on the weak force through ten feet of hydrogen gas at the experiment, the extreme accu- and separation of generations will be atmospheric pressure. racy is made clear. In the first sec- reinforced. But if a neutral kaon In the gas, electrons have a velocity tion, the beam of electrons and does decay into an electron and a greater than the speed of light and muons passes through argon gas, muon, established theory would be emit a small amount of radiation, which surrounds the charged 2.000 turned upside down. The result which is collected and recorded. wires described earlier. The particles would be completely new physics. 28 The New Superconductors: Why Do They Work? Understanding the new superconductors is crucial for making the most of their promise. Together, Brookhaven's research facilities provide a unique center for investiga- tions in this field. uperconductivity is a state the National Synchrotron Light in which electrical current Source (NSLS). Techniques using Sflows through a material neutron scattering, x-ray scattering, without encountering any resistance muons and positrons — all available and, therefore, does not dissipate. It through our special facilities — are was discovered in 1911. Early super- pointing the way for researchers to conducting materials, such as nio- understand what is happening bium-tin or niobium-titanium, that microscopically in these amazing are flexible enough to be made into new materials. wires had to be cooled by liquid This understanding is crucial, helium to very low temperatures, because although several different about 4 kelvins (-450°F). This high temperature superconducting limited their practical use. The compounds have been produced, dream of superconductivity above including one made here at Brook- the temperature of liquid nitrogen, haven, very little is known about 77 kelvins (-320°F), which would cut what makes them work, i.e.. the costs enough to see the phenomenon mechanism for high temperature widely applied, did not occur until superconductivity. Once this is clear, 1986. other compounds may be made in Now. in a "baked" mixture of a rare order to overcome certain earth, an alkaline metal, copper and difficulties. oxygen, superconductivity can take The difficulties lie in the nature of place at up to 95 kelvlns (-290° F), a these superconducting compounds, temperature almost 20 kelvins above which at present cannot be altered that of liquid nitrogen. One result of to suit different applications, but this higher temperature could be can only be used "as is." For exam- dramatically lowered costs in scien- ple, although they allow electric cur- tific and industrial applications rent to flow without resistance, the such as electronics, magnets, power flow is much greater along the transmission and transportation. copper oxide planes of the material This has made "high temperature" than perpendicular to them. As soon superconductivity one of the most as the current has to cross planes or exciting new happenings in physics grains of material, much less current for many decades, generating an can be carried. Also, the compounds outpouring of scientific papers that have been made are very granu- probably unparalleled in the history lar, and there is poor joining of physics. between grains. This presents prob- Brookhaven has developed into a lems in making shapes such as long unique center for scientific research wires. in this field, because scientists from In one experiment at the NSLS, all over the world are attracted by the Brookhaven researchers are using a opportunity to perform experiments photoemission technique to learn on superconducting materials at about the electronic structure of the such facilities as the Alternating materials. This makes it possible to Gradient Synchrotron (AGS), the compare the measured electronic High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR) and properties with established theories 29

of electronic structure. So far, signif- Yet another probe is positrons, the state, called "quantum spin fluid," in icant disagreements are being found antiparticles of electrons, which are the two-dimensional copper-oxide and remain to be completely used to examine the electron density planes in samples of pure understood. at defects in the compounds. Present lanthanum-copper-oxide. These Also at the NSLS, experimenters results suggest that the electron experiments are providing a basis use x-rays to probe the absorption density is changing at the defects, for new theoretical ideas that must edge of various elements of the which may affect the mechanism of now be formulated to explain the superconducting compounds. The the superconducters in some sur- properties of this state. An addi- way that the radiation is absorbed prising new way. tional task is to understand how gives information, for example, on This discovery may be related to superconductivity occurs when the valence of the copper atoms. The the work being carried out at the barium or strontium is added. valence number of an element shows HFBR, using a neutron-scattering Experiments are already under way the combining power of one of its technique to probe the way atoms in on these types of samples. atoms for the atoms of other ele- a compound vibrate in a lattice, The unique combination of facili- ments and varies according to which which determines how they influ- ties available here have put Brook- other elements are present. ence the electrons in the solid. haven at the forefront of research on Scientists have proposed many dif- Both muon studies at the AGS and understanding the underlying ferent theories to explain how the neutron experiments at the HFBR mechanism that causes supercon- new superconducting compounds have been used to probe the mag- ductivity in these remarkable new work. One theory, formulated at netic properties of high temperature materials. Eventually, this under- Brookhaven, depends on a valence samples. Neutron experiments, in standing will lead the way to practi- for copper that has been borne out particular, have led to the discovery cal applications. in the experiments done at the NSLS. of a new kind of anti-ferromagnetic

The black object is a levitating magnet It defies gravity because it is hovering over a high temperature superconductor. This is called the Meissner effect, which wasjlrst demonstrated in 1930. The floating magnet demo wasjlrst performed in 1945. in liquid helium. It can now be done easily because the new superconducting materials are effective at relatively high temperatures and. thus, can be cooled using liquid nitrogen. 30 Death of a Star The explosion of Supernova 1987A sent a brilliant burst of light through the Milky Way. Observed information from the event has proved consistent with the theories Jormed at BNL on supernova explosions.

Sidney Kahana (left) and Maurice bout 150,000 years ago, a cated equipment available, astro- Goldhaber discuss the upper limit on cataclysmic explosion in physicists and physicists the world neutrino mass. This can be deter- i the Large Magellanic Cloud, over are concentrating on this rare mined from the spread in times of A just outside our Milky Way galaxy, event, hoping that recent theories arrival of the SN 1987A neutrinos on signalled the death of a star. But it will be decisively tested. Earth. took until February 23,1987, for the Some of the keenest workers in brilliant light of Supernova SN1987A the field are at Brookhaven, where to travel the 150,000 light years to astrophysical research is centered on Earth. the specific mechanism for the Until Canadian astronomer Ian catastrophic end to a star's life. Shelton saw SN1987A from Las The theory is that after about ten Campanas Observatory in Chile, only million years, when a massive star seven sighted supernovas had been has consumed all the nuclear fuel in recorded in our galaxy, the last in its core, the latter collapses under 1604. Now, with the most sophisti- gravitational forces. The nuclear 31

matter in the collapsing core is com- er tests of (heir theories —until progenitor. This conclusion is borne pressed to extreme densities — a SN1987A. Now, as fast as informa- out by the neutrinos arriving only teaspoon of it would weigh about ten tion can be gathered, theories can be four hours before the light. billion tons — and the inner core tested on actual data. Also, the progenitor of SN1987A is matter begins to stiffen. After the visual sighting of now thought to be a blue giant. This Around the core are a mantle of SN1987A in Chile, scientists looked was a surprise, as previous theories the elements created in earlier stages for the neutrino confirmation. It was held that a star would not explode and an envelope of primordial hy- discovered that about four hours until it had passed from the smaller drogen. A shock wave is formed before the sighting, two proton decay blue to the larger red giant stage. between the stiffening inner core detectors, one in Cleveland, Ohio, in The explanation may lie in the star's and the still collapsing outer core. If which Brookhaven was collaborat- metallic content. If low. that could the shock is not strong enough to ing, and another in Kamioka, Japan, accelerate its evolution to a prema- get out, the star becomes a black had recorded unusually high counts ture carbon ignition, collapse and hale (dense matter from whose inte- of neutrinos in a very short time possible explosion consistent with rior no radiation escapes). period. calculations made at Brookhaven in But if the shock is energetic These bursts of neutrinos, their collaboration with the State Univer- enough, it will go beyond the core, energies, and the timing of their sity of New York at Stony Brook. ejecting the mantle and envelope in arrival are consistent with stellar Some data have already shed light what is called a prompt shock mech- gravitational collapse and the on more general questions, such as: anism. The remaining core evolves prompt shock mechanism that ejects Do neutrinos have mass? Because into a neutron star. Innumerable the mantle and envelope. The major- the neutrinos from SN1987A arrived neutrinos (some 1O57), particles with ity of the detected neutrinos, in fact, over a very short period, a neutrino no electrical charge that can pass originate in the neutron star left mass of less than about 10 to 15 unimpeded through the densest behind by the shock. electron volts is indicated. materials, stream out of the col- Other observations have been As time passes and the atmos- lapsed star in all directions at or unexpected, but have not proved phere around SN1987A thins near the speed of light. inexplicable. For example, informa- enough to become transparent to the The supernova's light is generated tion from the light spectrum sur- x-rays from the surface of the by the escaping shock wave, which rounding the star and the observa- remaining neutron star, yet more moves more slowly than light itself tion of neutrinos both indicate a information will be available. BNL's through the dense atmosphere sur- Type H supernova, originating from astrophysicical research program rounding the core. Because of this, an initially massive star. Yet the will continue to test supernova the supernova is not expected to luminosity of SN1987A, compara- theory for consistency with the become optically visible to observers tively low at first, indicates a small new observations. until some time after the neutrinos have passed. One question that has long inter- ry-symm ested astrophysicists has been: What Model number Mass r w, Eexpl 51 determines whether the shock has M0 MeV meV 10 ergs sufficient energy to push through the mantle and envelope? For years, 38* 12 180 2 29.3 2.3 0.1 researchers used computer models 40 12 180 2 29.3 12.0 3.2 of stars during collapse to track the 41 12 180 3 29.3 3.1 0.8 chain of events, but every modeled 43 15 180 2.5 29.3 4.1 1.7 event resulted in a stalled shock and 45 15 90 3 29.3 4.0 0.8 a black hole. 11 isn - Ill — ? 4 In the early 1980's. a new ^f " 13 180 * 2.5 36.0 4.1 approach was tried at Brookhaven. DO 1BU 2.5 34.0 4.1 1.9 In the calculations, the properties assumed for dense nuclear matter were altered, softening the collapsing This table shows the energies from a prompt shock supernova explosion. These core material. Simultaneously, data came from computer simulations of supernova explosions published general relativity was introduced jointly by BNL's Jerry Cooperstein and Sidney Kanana. and. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Edward Baron. Hans Bethe and Gerald into the model, strengthening grav- Brown, in 1985 and 1987. The calculated amounts in Model No. 62 (circled) are ity. This increased the intensity of in accordance with observed data from SN 1987A. the shock sufficiently to make the computer star explode. Gravitation collapse specialists have had to be content with comput- 32 Department of Nuclear Energy The tremendous power enclosed in the nucleus of the atom can be safely made available for use only through a wide range of scientific work. The Department of Nuclear Energy is involved in analyzing the safety of fission reactors, study- ing advanced reactor systems, developing improved methods of safeguarding nuclear materials, and compiling and eval- uating nuclear data required by scientific users throughout the world.

the Soviet Union, in 1986. Variables such as these must be taken into Being Prepared account in predicting and control- ling the amount of radiation that The consequences of a reactor accident will depend on the reaches the environment in the event of an accident. specific sequence of events involved in the accident. Other variables are also important. Brookhaven's work is to study the best ways to prevent and A key point, for example, is the time mitigate the amount of radiation that might escape into the that elapses between being aware of a potential release and the actual environment in the case of a severe accident. release. A mitigation device or proce- dure might give a longer warning hree Mile Island 2 — that's core into the environment in the period, so people can be evacuated the nuclear power plant in case of a severe accident. from the expected danger area. TPennsylvania where an acci- In the ensuing years, BNL's exper- For an accident that results in a dent in 1979 became headline news. tise in this field has grown, and we core meltdown, the best barrier to The accident was essentially con- have provided the NRC with research escaping radiation is an effective tained within the reactor building. and methodology development and containment building (of which var- Still, the incident triggered concerns with technical assistance on specific ious types are in use) to enclose the among the public, industry and the licensing issues related to accident reactor core and vessel. Enormous Nuclear Regulatory Commission source terms. surges of steam, noncondensable (NRC) about possible large releases of "Source term" refers to the gases or exploding hydrogen are all radioactive isotopes. radioactive isotopes that can be possible in an accident. They could As a result, Brookhaven was asked emitted to the environment as a cause the containment building to by the NRC to study the best ways to result of core meltdown. This radia- develop a single hole or even massive mitigate the amount of radiation tion can differ by the type of radio- cracks, which would allow radiation that might escape from a reactor nuclides that emerge from a melt- to be released. down, how many there are, how Under an extraordinary pressure quickly they evolve and how far they load of steam, will one material or reach into the sky (their plume building design contain radiation energy). The plume energy depends better than another? In the event of on the specific sequence of events a core meltdown, would the molten during the accident in the contain- debris penetrate the floor below the ment building. containment, react with concrete in Radiation emitted in a low energy the building foundation and force a plume settles quickly, affecting the path into the earth itself, contami- local environment. Energetic plumes nating the groundwater? This was propel radiation into the upper the event postulated in the movie atmosphere, where it may be carried The China Syndrome. over great distances, depending on Furthermore, core debris can wind currents. This, in fact, occurred interact with the concrete to produce during the accident at the water vapor and carbon dioxide that Chernobyl-4 nuclear power plant in can then be reduced to highly com- 33

bustible hydrogen and carbon mon- At least three approaches to risk Working on calculations for a proba- oxide — in which case the threat assessment are possible. The first bilistic risk assessment of a nuclear would be upward, with temperature emphasizes the consequences of power plant are (from left) Wm. Trevor and pressure loads developing in the accidents in terms of radiation con- Pratt Robert Bari and Robert Hall. containment building. tamination. The second concentrates To investigate the wide spectrum mainly on the likelihood of acci- of events that might result from dif- dents. The third focuses attention on ferent accident scenarios. Brook- a combination of both, which weighs haven researchers gather the maxi- the consequence of each accident mum amount of information, then event by its likelihood. use it as the basis for computer cal- The BNL approach tends towards culations. Our accident simulation the third techn que — probabilistic computer models rely on very large risk assessment. computer codes to predict the course To do an assessment of probabilis- of events that might follow an acci- tic risk, we combine data developed dent. But because there have been, from events that have occurred with in fact, comparatively few nuclear data from hypothetical events in cer- accidents, even sophisticated com- tain areas. This combination pro- puter models cannot provide the vides a basis for decision-making by answers to certain questions. For separating the important issues this reason, measuring uncertainty. from the unimportant with regard to or risk assessment, has become a the release of radiation in the event major aspect of our work. of a nuclear accident. 34

tions on different aspects of reactor safety. Safety in Computer Codes This is generally done by gather- ing information through surveys, How reliable are computer codes, which deduce probable research and experiments, then ana- causes and results of simulated nuclear reactor accidents? lyzing and codifying the data by Brookhaven codes were used to plot what probably hap- computer. Next, varying sets of pos- sible events are assumed and pened at the Chernobyl reactor accident. Our results com- entered into the computer. By a paredfavorably with what was reported by the Soviets. series of tests using different com- puter codes, the probable causes and results of a simulated accident can be deduced. At Brookhaven, we study reactor safety questions, focusing on phys- ics, thermal hydraulics and fuel per- formance, as well as system tran- sient analysis. A transient is an event that causes the plant's operation to change from a steady-state condition. Ordinary transients include starting or shut- ting down a plant — but there are also accidental transients. They occur when something goes wrong and the operator may have to return the plant to a stable condition manually. One result of our transient anal- yses has been the construction of the plant analyzer, a sophisticated mathematical model of the inner workings of a nuclear power plant. The Brookhaven analyzer makes full use of state-of-the-art parallel pro- cessing minicomputers. It can simu- late a given set of circumstances, including severe reactor accidents, about three-and-a-half times faster From left John Carew, Gregory Van n April 26, 1986, an than real life. Tuyle. Wolfgang Wulffand James accident at the Soviet In other work on severe accidents, Guppy study data to be entered into OUnion's Chernobyl-4 nuclear Brookhaven researchers do hypo- the Brookhaven codes used to ana- power plant released an estimated thetical computer analyses, with par- lyze reactor accidents. 50 million curies of radioactive ticular emphasis on the problems of material into the environment. Mil- direct heating of containment lions of dollars of agricultural pro- atmosphere and molten core reac- ducts were destroyed following the tions with concrete. accident, and radioactivity from Because of this and our expertise Chernobyl can still be detected in in reactor transient analysis, the the soil and water in certain Laboratory was asked by DOE to pro- countries. vide analytical support to the United As rare as this event has been in States delegation to the interna- the history of nuclear power, its con- tional meeting held in Vienna after sequences are far-reaching enough the Chernobyl accident. Nearly 600 to show clearly why the Nuclear delegates from 62 countries repres- Regulatory Commission (NRC) and ented in the International Atomic the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Agency attended the August fund groups of expert scientists to 1986 meeting with the Soviets to research and make recommenda- review their report of the accident. 35

A translation of the Soviet report UVUHI arrived at Brookhaven just a few I \ I I I I I \ T I I 1 I days before the meeting. We imme- diately started analyzing the causes of the accident and found thai we «• could use the regular computer MHET /Urtiwh il CtwMtyl ftwir EiwniM if 4/M/M codes we had developed for the NRC. •14 Within 24 hours, we had produced an analysis indicating that there had been a major power excursion — a sudden, very rapid rise in the power produced by the Chernobyl reactor. Further plotting on the computer confirmed the excursion and its tim- ing, and the results were taken the next day to the head of the US. dele- gation in Washington, D.C., who took copies of the plots to Vienna There, the Brookhaven results were compared to a particular figure in the Soviets' report, a figure that had not been included in the version we had received prior to the meeting. The two plots — the Soviets' with real data, and ours with deduced data — concurred. So, by using our computer codes, Brookhaven analysts had been able to plot the accident events. In turn, this plot had been analyzed to reveal the cause of the accident — a signif- icant and avoidable design flaw in the reactor, made lethal by human error. The computer codes are continu- ally being updated and improved. This is done in part by staff members from our small experimen- tal group, who do experiments to replace deduced data with actual The Brookhaven plot of the Chernobyl data. One phenomenon is isolated power excursion (top) and part of the from other influences. As much data Soviets' results (bottom). The Brook- as possible are gathered on the sub- haven plot of the reactor's power ject from small-scale experiments, shows the same sudden, very rapid then entered in the computer code to rise to 100 times normal power as do improve the model. curves A and D in the Sovietjlgure. This type of reactor safety research results in an expertise that is useful in another branch of NRC operations — licensing assessment. At this All these questions are analyzed in time, researchers at BNL are helping the light of the vast data base to assess three advanced reactor upholding the computer codes that designs. Two are liquid metal-cooled have been modeled for this purpose. reactors, with sodium as the coolant, The successful use of Brookhaven's and one is a high-temperature gas computer codes to deduce the hap- reactor, whose coolant is helium. We penings at Chernobyl highlights study and advise on these and other their reliability. They are a valuable questions of licensing and safe plant basis for decisions on reactor safety operation. and performance. 36

Safe Disposal of High-Level Nuclear Waste

Can scientists predict how certain materials will perform after 10,000 years? That is the task of specialists at Brook- haven, who evaluate materials to contain high-level radioactive waste at disposal sites.

en thousand years into agency responsible for developing the future — that's the 10-CFR-60 and deciding whether Tamount of time that existing designs meet safety requirements. regulations require high-level Brookhaven researchers are par- radioactive waste to be isolated. To ticularly valuable as consultants on insure safe disposal of this waste, waste disposal packages. While the federal regulations contained in 10- NRC was developing and defining the CFR-60 have established stringent terms of 10-CFR-60, several of the criteria. Under these criteria, the position papers submitted to that waste must be contained in material agency were developed by the Labor- able to withstand the effects of the atory. After the passage of the code waste and of the repository envi- in 1983, Brookhaven staff continued ronment for 300 to 1,000 years. Fol- to work for the NRC, evaluating the lowing that period, a barrier system Department of Energy (DOE) pro- must prevent more than a certain grams for proposed safe isolation of maximum of radionuclides from high-level waste. being released for the next 9,000 This extensive experience has years. given Brookhaven valuable expertise Assessing the safety of containers in radioactive waste regulations, and for this waste presents a unique OCRWM draws on this knowledge. scientific problem. In no other field With our technical assistance, waste must the behavior of engineered package designs are submitted for materials be estimated for so long a NRC approval only after they can be time. The same sort of difficulty shown to conform to federal would be found, for example, in requirements. designing a car that will not rust for At present, waste packages are 1,000 years. being planned by three groups: the Solving this unique problem is one Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Inves- aspect of the business of the U.S. tigations Project: the Basalt Waste Department of Energy's Office of Civ- Isolation Project in Hanford, ilian Radioactive Waste Management Washington; and the Salt Repository (OCRWM), funded by taxes on utili- Project Office in Columbus, Ohio. ties producing nuclear power. Each of these organizations is Brookhaven's task is to provide responsible for developing both a technical support to the OCRWM In candidate site for high-level waste evaluating and improving waste- disposal and the kind of packaging package performance. that would be needed at that partic- The OCRWM is responsible for sev- ular site. eral potential sites where commer- The three differ geologically. The cial radioactive waste may be buried. Nevada site is situated in tuff, which A system of barriers to package is compacted, sand- and gravel-like waste according to the 10-CFR-60 volcanic ash. A certain moisture criteria is designed for each site. Our content at this site would partially staff reviews these plans, asking for saturate waste packages. Hanford clarification if necessary, and advises sits on basalt, a hard, dark, glassy OCRWM on whether they comply with volcanic rock, and here, containment regulations. The plans will eventually would be totally saturated with be submitted to the Nuclear Regula- water. Deep beneath the surface in tory Commission (NRC), the federal Deaf Smith County in Texas are lay- 37

ers of salt —another possible reposi- bles is immense. Yet cost must also Donald Schweitzer checks on recent i tory material. A fourth site, in gran- be taken into account. changes in waste management ite, is also being considered for a The investigative process cannot policy. repository. be hurried, but the deadline for a When Brookhaven reviews the decision on a repository site is 1990, proposed projects, we evaluate and unless a recent DOE request for compare the advantages and disad- delay is passed by Congress. Politi- vantages of the geological features of cal, legal and technological consider- each site with containment mate- ations must be weighed until a reas- rials and design. For example, how onable balance is achieved. well have environmental effects on For safety, however, the basis of the packaging been understood? this balance must lie in technology, What would be the consequences if on the most complete, scientific the assumed reactions prove information available. Much of the incorrect? technical expertise needed by These kinds of questions can only government policymakers is pro- be answered by expert evaluation of vided by Brookhaven staff, whose the chemistry, metallurgy and phys- diverse specialities span the most ics of the materials and geological advanced knowledge associated with sites involved. The number of varia- high-level radioactive waste. 38 Department of Applied Science Discovering one of the new superconducting materials or finding a new application for a new kind of insulating poly- mer concrete are just two results of studies by scientists in the Department of Applied Science. Research activities are organized into three broad areas, covering aspects of tech- nology, environmental science and energy science. Within these areas are specific divisions working on such diverse programs as architectural and building systems, electro- chemistry, biomedical and environmental assessment, oceanographic sciences, atomic and applied physics, and materials science. Saving Energy Saves Dollars What's the best way to lower heating costs? The latest New Technology ideas are investigated by BNL researchers who are experts Ongoing research addresses the on combustion equipment technology. atomization process, in which the oil is atomized, or spread out. in the f the oil comes out of your Retrofit Options fine spray described earlier, allowing burner in a very fine spray it to burn completely. This method For example, the chances are that instead of littJe droplets, could should result in an oil burner that I in your own basement, your boiler uses 0.1 to 0.6 gallons of fuel per that lower your heating bill? Yes. has been retrofitted with a flame re- according to researchers in the hour and is also soot-free. tention head oil burner. Researchers Department of Applied Science work- Another new technique is the at Brookhaven found that these ing on combustion equipment tech- pulse combustion process. Small burners require 50% less excess air nology. Brookhaven's experience in fuel-air charges explode at about 60 for clean combustion than conven- this field dates back to 1976. and to 70 cycles per second, forcing the tional boilers do. They also restrict many of our findings have led to new hot exhaust gases under pressure air flow up the chimney when the industry standards in residential through the heat exchanger, which burner is off. Since the combustion and commercial space heating. is a device to transfer heat from one air enters at room temperature gas or fluid to another. In this case, (about 70°F) and has to be heated the exhaust gases heat water for (along with the fuel combustion pro- residential space heating use. The ducts) to the flue gas exit tempera- pulse combustion boiler, with over ture (about 350 to 700°F). the less 90% efficiency, is a real breakthough excess air used, the more efficient in oil combustion technology. the burner. As a result, flame reten- tion head oil burners are now the industry standard used for new oil- Combustion Equipment fired systems, and a large number of Testing Laboratory existing homes have been refitted The combustion equipment test- with them. ing laboratory has just been com- Other retrofit options (ways of pletely updated with the most redesigning and/or altering heating sophisticated computer equipment systems for improved efficiency) for measuring emissions, mass flow, have been evaluated by Brookhaven. temperature, pressure and noise. In For example, smaller fuel nozzles and addition, the new microcomputer stack vent damper devices are now system collects and files data while widely used. testing is in progress. 39

To encourage cooperative research stainless steel, which generally does not burn completely. It builds up on land development with public and not corrode, is used. surfaces, making equipment less I private sectors. Brookhaven wel- But even stainless steel will suffer efficient. We hope to eliminate it by comes representatives from industry, from pitting and crevice corrosion if new techniques involving atomiza- research organizations and other the atmosphere contains as little as tion. combustion and controls. government laboratories to make use 25 parts per million of chlorides. To Technology can improve the way of the testing laboratory. Prototype tackle this problem, we are exam- equipment performs, but continued designs or equipment can be evalu- ining special stainless steels and proper adjustment is desirable. We ated prior to final development for new designs, as well as looking into are working on an advanced controls the commercial marketplace. adding a non-metallic heat project that may provide a built-in exchanger to follow the primary system insuring the best air/fuel exchanger, which would still be ratio to be calculated and main- made of low-cost common carbon tained at peak efficiency under all "Research on Materials steel. Several high-grade stainless conditions. Brookhaven research has also steel alloys are also being investi- In many new designs of heating Jbeen concerned with materials for gated to see how crevice corrosion equipment, the flue gas exhaust advanced condensing heat affects them in seams or under bolts, temperatures are so low that it may exchangers. Super-efficient heat and also how likely they are to crack be possible to eliminate the chimney exchangers can extract so much if corroded and under stress. entirely. This would reduce costs for heat from flue exhaust gases that the new homebuilder and also water vapor, generated while fuel is improve efficiency by reducing air burning, condenses on equipment New Studies infiltration losses from chimney surfaces. Contaminants from the Some of our current research is venting. Brookhaven researchers are fuel can combine with the water focused on soot control. Soot forms investigating the pros and cons of vapor, causing general corrosion. So when heavy fractions of the fuel do this innovative technology.

Measuring the emissions characteristics of an oil-fired heating system are the combustion equipment technology team: (from left) Thomas Butcher. Yusuf Celebi, Roger McDonald and Ruth Coughlan. 40

A Burning Question

Fire has benefited and intrigued mankindjor thousands of years. Recent techniques in the study of combustion kinetics, the action of burning, have revolutionized scientific understanding of how gases burn.

ombustion — the burning of fuels — fires industry, powers Ccars, warms homes and cooks food. On the submicroscopic scale of molecule0, the chemistry of combustion is dominated by elemen- tary reactions, which may number in the hundreds for a particular fuel. These reactions involve atoms such as atomic oxygen and other highly reactive species. Once generated, the atoms react with the fuel molecules to convert chemical energy into thermal energy (heat). Intermediate products form and react in turn until the final products of combustion — water and carbon dioxide — are formed. The rates at which the elementary reactions occur (the kinetics) control how fast the fuel burns. At any given tempera- ture, each elementary reaction occurs at a specific rate, which is called a rate constant. Researchers in the Department of Applied Science are examining how quickly atoms of oxygen and hydro- gen react with different substances at specific temperatures in order to establish a table of rate constants for each gas molecule. We are also study- ing the products of elementary reac- tions and the specific routes by which they occur. These experimental results are sought by other researchers who need accurate data to develop and test computer models of combustion processes and for comparison with theoretical calculations of reaction rates. Experts in combustion kinetics recognize the Brookhaven data as particularly reliable because of our multi-apparatus/technique approach. Right now, we are the only James Sutherland (left) and Bruce Klemm adjust an absorption photometer on laboratory in the world that can pro- the shock tube. vide rate constant data by three 41

separate and independent experi- mental techniques, which together Shock Tube Experiment span a temperature range from 300 What are the pressure into the end plate and is to 2,500 kelvins (80°F to 4,000°F). readings? reflected back up the tube, Each technique uses highly sensitive How about the flash lamp further compressing and heat detection methods, and although setting'? ing the test gas. which readilv each operates under different condi- attains temperatures of tions of pressure and temperature, Everything checked and ready'? around 2,500 kelvins the regions of overlap allow one 4.040°Fi. method to check another. OK. then . . . FIRE' A plunger is pushed down A moment after the shock Recently, we have been working on hard to pierce a large square wave is reflected off the end a flash photolysis-shock technique hole in the thin aluminum plate, a photolysis flashlamp (see sidebar on shock tube experi- sheet separating two sections is fired, causing the molecules ment). This method was developed of the shock tube. Instantane in the shock heated test'gas to so that direct rate measurements of ously. the helium gas held rn dissociate into atoms. Siniul a gas could be made at very high the driver tank expands, pro taneously. an atomic reso temperatures. With this apparatus, ducing a shock wave that nance absorption photometer studies can be performed over a races down the (> meter long located about five centimeters temperature range of about 800 to tube at up to 2.200 miles per from the end plate monitors 2,500 kelvins, in a defined environ- hour, heating and compress the change in concentration of ment free from the effects of other ing the low pressure test gas the atoms formed in the pho chemical reactions. already in the tube as it trav tolvsis flash. Two other, more conventional els. The shock wave slams Bv now. the instruments methods used at Brookhaven are have collected numerous read flash photolysis-resonance fluores- ings on the velocity of the cence and discharge flow-resonance shock wave and recorded the fluorescence. Both are used to mea- Working on a shock tube concentration profile of the' sure specific rates of reactions in experiment are [from left James Sutherland. atoms as they rapidly react. gases over a wide temperature span, .Just ten thousandths of a from about 298 kelvins {77°F) to Maduwegedara Wickramaaratehi, Gregory second have passed since the 1,100 kelvins (l,520°F). They com- Yanvood. Barry Galen and aluminum sheet was pierced. plement the shock tube technique in Bruce Klemm. The experiment is over. several ways, including their greater sensitivity. A fourth technique, which we have just developed, makes use of dis- charge flow-photoionization mass spectrometry. A gas sample flows through a pinhole to form a molecu- lar beam, which is directed into a mass spectrometer. Here, any matter that can be ionized is detected. The photoionization process is made ultrasensitive, and thus more accu- rate, by using the ultraviolet light from Brookhaven's National Syn- chrotron Light Source. This technique allows detailed unlike other, indirect methods that observation of what happens to the often require the use of computer atoms in the sample gas and what modeling. This adds to the advan- products result from the reactions, tages of the unique checking system thereby enabling us to determine resulting from measurements made how certain products are formed with several different methods, and when a gas burns. The information the great range of temperature is useful, for example, in the preven- covered. Brookhaven's data on the tion of industrial air pollution. rate constants and mechanisms of A key feature of all four techniques gas reactions are thus considered is that they obtain rate-constant especially reliable by the scientific values via direct measurement. community. 42 PFTs: Detective Gases A detective following a suspect often loses the trail. But with the easy-to-spot tracer gases developed at Brookhaven, substances are easily tracked near or Jar, in air, gas or liquid. ow can you find out where the U.S. National Oceanic and the air on the East Coast is Atmospheric Administration, Idaho Hcoming from? Or where oil National Engineering Laboratory, under the North Sea will well up and the Environmental Measure-^ best? Or where a tiny oil leak in a ments Laboratory in New York. ten-mile pipe three feet underground From January through March is located — without digging? 1987, PFTs were released at sites in "Detective" gases can track down Montana and Minnesota. They were the answers. In 1976, Brookhaven traced and captured at receptor sites pioneered the development of ultra- as far as 2,600 kilometers away on sensitive perfluorocarbon tracer the East Coast. Other receptor sites gases (PFTs). Used to tag various in Europe and on the West Coast of substances, PFTs act as detectives the United States were set up in the tracking the movements of these hope of tracking atmospheric dis- substances in air, gas and liquid persion around the world. Analysis is over short or long distances. They still ongoing. proved so versatile and effective that, Another practical application of in 1985. the Tracer Technology Cen- PFTs has helped an oil-drilling firm. ter was formed to give independent Once the first fast flow of oil has les- identity to the research and practical sened from a well, gas is usually application of tracer gases. injected back to force more oil up to PFTs are extremely stable, nontoxic the surface. If the gas is tagged with compounds that do not affect or tracers, checks on where and when react with their surroundings. Their they emerge can show the most use is rare in industry, so that only effective place to inject the gas. very small amounts need be released Brookhaven has provided PFTs for to be spotted over the minute Phillips Petroleum and the Norwe- amount already in the environment gian Institute for Energy Technology This makes them more cost-effective to use for five injection wells serving than other tracers that are cheaper 28 production wells in the North to produce but must be used in far Sea The PFTs are being used in greater quantity to be detected. addition to conventional, radioactive An even more valuable asset of tracers. PFTs is their high reactivity with In the summer of 1986, both PFTs electrons, which makes them easy to and radioactive tracers were injected detect with a technique called single into the wells, and, after some modi- electron capture. This method is fications in recovery methods, PFTs used by the Brookhaven Atmos- were regularly detected. So far, no pheric Tracer Samplers, dubbed radioactive tracers have appeared. BATS, that we developed along with After four or five months, it was PFTs. apparent that one of the lighter PFTs Striking examples of the useful- had reached its peak and was declin- ness of PFTs can be found in any of ing in traceable amounts, whereas the Tracer Center's recent projects. the heaviest PFT was still rising and In the Across North America Tracer increasing in amplitude. From this, Experiment, we are testing and veri- information about the quality and fying established computer models quantity of oil below can be deduced. of long-range atmospheric transport PFTs are just as valuable at gather- and dispersion, in collaboration with ing information closer to home. In checking the correct installation of In the Tracer Technology Center. ventilation systems in commercial Russell Dietz checks datajrom gas buildings, the best arrangement of chromatographic analysis of tracer vents can be shown by the paths fol- samples collected from an oil well in lowed by PFTs, with no risk to per- the North Sea. Perfluorocarbon tracer gases are used there to track the flow sonnel or damage to property. of oil within the petroleum reservoirs Another program at the Tracer beneath the sea. Technology Center uses PFTs to track leaks when gas goes by pipe- line from Texas to customers in Los Angeles. Some storage tanks are air above a cable will save much time located near old oil fields, where a and expense in finding the exact smell of gas may come from natural location of the leak. sources, rather than leaks in the The success of PFTs has encour- pipeline. To make sure, PFTs can do aged our Tracer Center staff to start the checking without extensive developing new tracers. Some may excavation of underground tanks or dissolve in water, a trait useful in pipes. studying acid rain. Particulate For the same reason, plans are tracers could be used in studies to already under way to use PFTs to tag remove particulates from the atmos- the oil-cooled, high voltage power phere. And PFTs could tag biological cables buried in New York City. organisms in groundwater, or be Some cables are 10 to 15 miles long, used to find out how radon from soil so detecting a leak by sampling the enters the basements of homes. 44 National Synchrotron Light Source Department

The National Synchrotron Light Source (NSLS) Department operates the world's foremost facility for research using x-ray and ultraviolet radiation. The NSLS, for which the department was named, accommodates a national user community of about 900 scientists from 125 separate insti- tutions. These researchers use the NSLS to do a wide range of experiments in physics, chemistry, biology, materials science and various technologies. In Synch With the New Superconductors Brookhaven has a long history of researching and develop- ing superconductivity, Jirstjor particle accelerator magnets and later for power transmission cables. Recently, atten- tion has focused on new, high temperature superconduct- ing materials that have potentialjor everyday applica- tions. A number of experiments at the National Synchrotron Light Source are aimed at understanding these new superconductors. his past year saw a tremen- In the everyday world, when cur- dous burst of activity at the rent flows through a wire, resistance TNational Synchrotron Light occurs when the electrons collide Source (NSLS), as nearly a dozen with obstacles in their path — experiments were organized to study impurities in the metal, even the the new class of superconductors metal's own atoms that are vibrating discovered recently by several out of position. Essentially, these col- research teams around the world, lisions heat the wire and cause including a group here at resistance to the flow of current. Brookhaven. In contrast, if an electric current is The reason for the heated interest started in a superconducting loop in this field is that the new super- and the power is then turned off. the conductors may finally lead to prac- current will continue to flow virtu- tical applications for superconduc- ally forever, as long as the tempera- tivity in such areas as electronics, ture is maintained below a critical transportation and power value for the particular material car- transmission, rying the current. Hence, the keys to Superconductivity was first dis- superconductivity are special mate- covered in 1911. It was a finding of rials at or below their critical great potential, because in the world temperatures, of superconductivity, an electrical It sounds easy to achieve, but in current can flow forever. practice it's not. Early on, the 45

extremely cold temperatures required to make superconductivity work proved impractical for everyday On the NSLS l'7H Core levels above and use. In fact, it wasn't until the Beam Lines below the I of Y Ba Cu O. 1960's that the phenomenon was liadohruum barium coppe; applied at all, primarily in magnets Kxperiments on hii>h ( nti< ill oxide Kid Ba (u O and for physics research. temperature I siipcniindut holnnum barium i oppei oxide tors bewail at the \si s m Ho Ba (u <) . BM Early superconductors were made December 19HH. The following \ MB Room temperature of metallic alloys, either niobium- is a list of the experiments, bv measurements of c oie levels titanium or niobium-tin. Both location on the beam lines and valem e bands ot exhibit superconductivity at and the institutions involved. temperatures close to absolute zero Y Ba Cu (). IBM. on the Kelvin scale (-459.67°F). At VUV Ring I 14 Room temperature Brookhaven, using these supercon- 11 Room temperature measurements of La Sr Cu () ductors, we have developed and used measurements ol core levels magnets in particle accelerators, and usinii samples ot lanthanum \f-x.us and photon we have also built a prototype power strontium copper oxide stimulated desorption. Look transmission line. i La Sr (ii ():. (ore levels are Hit! spec ific ally at i ore levels What makes the new supercon- the tightest bound ele< tions valence bands-and resonance ductors so remarkable is that they ol an atom. 1 hese electrons photoemission BM become superconducting at much are least affected "l>v < hemn al higher temperatures — about 90 bonding, and changes in_,then X-Ray Ring * kelvins (-300 ° F). A great advantage bindinti energy can indicate XI 1 Applu at ion of 1-\Af s of this is that liquid nitrogen can be the chemical state ot the and \AM-s to L,i Si ( u () and substituted for much more expen- La Ba Cu (). BM . sive liquid helium as the refrigerant. 1'2 Measurements of ( ore X13A High resolution x The high-critical-temperature (Tc) levels and valence bands ot ray diffraction studies of superconductors, as the new mate- La Sr ( u (). Valence bands are La Sr Cu O and La Ba Cu (). rials have come to be called, are derived from the outermost BM and I'niversitv of metallic oxides that are processed electrons ol the atom in a Houston. like ceramics. Oddly enough, they solid. In conductors, electrons are normally poor conductors of in the outermost band ciin X14 Powder diffraction of electricity. Various combinations of duction band i are free to move La Ba Cu O. Oak rare earth elements and alkaline throughout the solid. An>onne National Laboratory. elements, paired with copper oxide, National Laboratory'. XI 8 NhXAFS of have proven to be superconducting. 151' Valence band mca La Ba Cu (). Art^onne National The question now is not so much surements of yttrium barium Laboratory and City Iniversity what will work, but why. And that is copper oxide IY Ha On O>. of New York. what's driving the rush of experi- above and below its T . BM X'2'2 Hit*h resolution x ray ments at the NSLS. AT»7 Bell Labs and Temple diffraction of La Ba Cu (). BM In particular, researchers are I'niversitv. and I'niversitv of Houston. studying the atomic and electronic structure of the high Tc supercon- ductors. Experiments are generally separated into two groups: Those looking at the distances between atoms are using the x-ray ring of the NSLS, where higher-energy, shorter- wavelength photons are suited to seeing atomic positions. The vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) ring offers other groups lower energy photons, which are optimum for measuring the electronic structure of materials. Both rings, however, produce beams of high intensity and tunability, making the NSLS particularly attrac- tive for these experiments. 46 At the Micron Level — 3-D Images

With a new technique called microtomography, researchers at the National Synchrotron Light Source are exploring the inner structure of samples, with resolution in the micron range.

ost people these days have technique used in making CAT scans had a medical x-ray, and (CAT stands for computer-assisted Meven CAT scans are becom- tomography), was a welcome advance ing increasingly common. Both are because it gives three-dimensional used to see the interior of the body. information about the interior of the The standard x-ray picture, how- body. ever, only shows that somewhere in Within the last few years, yet the body a certain amount of energy another x-ray technique has shown was removed from the x-ray beam; it promise. It's called microtomog- doesn't tell exactly where. The devel- raphy. opment of x-ray tomography, the While CAT scanning has a resolu- tion on the order of millimeters, microtomography has a resolution in the micron range, 1,000 times more detailed. That kind of resolu- tion is required to study the micro- structure of materials and biological specimens. At Brookhaven's National Syn- chrotron Light Source (NSLS), the first microtomography work began in 1986. The NSLS is one of the few facilities in the world where the technique can be practiced. When tomography is used in CAT scanning, x-rays scan a planar sec- tion of a patient. The measurements are then mathematically analyzed to create a cross-sectional map — a reconstructed image of a slice through the bone or tissue being examined. Three-dimensional information can be obtained by tak- ing many cross-sectional slices along the length of the patient. To get micron resolution, a million times more x-rays per unit area are needed than what is sufficient for ordinary tomography. That is possi- ble only in a synchrotron light source such as the NSLS, which emits x-rays intense enough to form micron-resolution images in reason- able time. Since the NSLS is not Kevin D'Amico of Exxon Research and Engineering Company stands at the moveable, the samples are rotated NSLS beam line where Exxon researchers are studying microtomography. instead. The technique makes possible three-dimensional images of micron-sized Three beam lines on the x-ray ring structures. of the NSLS have been used for initial 47

experiments with microtomography. Each one is using a variation of the technique to study different samples. On beam line X-26. caterpillars, ants and mice have been imaged, as part of a long-range goal to do brain scans of live mice. In principle, if a live specimen could be studied, then the progress of a disease could be observed over time to see if therapy works. The specimens are imaged with a pinhole beam 20-30 microns on a side (25 microns is about a thou- sandth of an inch). A detector on the other side of the specimen measures how many x- rays come through. The specimen is then translated 25 microns and This figure shows the result of an iron scan across the abdomen of a measured again. That process is honeybee, using a technique called fluorescence microtomography. The repeated until the entire sample has iron is highly concentrated in the dorsal side of the abdomen and in the been scanned. Then the sample is body wall. The experiment was done at the NSLS by researchers from Oak rotated about one degree and Ridge National Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute ojTechnology. another 200 translation steps are made. This process is repeated for tory and the Massachusetts Institute heterogeneous samples such as coal, about 200 rotations, for a total of of Technology. asphalt and oil-bearing porous about 40.000 measurements. Finally, For this project, fluorescence rocks. with so many measurements, a microtomography is being used. A Compared to the other two beam technique called back projection can detector is positioned in the plane of lines, Exxon's apparatus is large- be done by a computer to recon- the ring and at an angle 90 degrees scale in that it uses the entire NSLS struct the interior of the specimen. from the incident x-ray beam. x-ray beam (appro- imately 1.25 mil- It's a lengthy procedure, requiring Because each element fluoresces limeters wide by one millimeter one hour per image, so what is with a characteristic signal, the high) and matches that beam with a planned next is a method that will detector can recognize the element of detector that has an active area of use in place of the pinpoint beam a interest — in this case, iron. Again, several square millimeters. The beam shaped like a sheet of paper — the" specimen is rotated and trans- operation is comparable to taking wide and thin. A new detector will lated and the fluorescent signal many pinhole images within one measure the position of many x-rays. transformed. The result is a map of plane all at once and hundreds of The combination will be like having the distribution of that element in planes simultaneously. 200 pinpoint beams and 200 detec- the insect. To visualize the data in three tors measuring one slice of a speci- Initial experiments found iron dimensions, a graphics capability is men all at once, requiring just 200 concentrations in the abdomen as being developed that will use exist- rotations to get a cross-sectional well as on the abdomen surface. Still ing hardware and software for a va- view. to be done is a diffraction measure- riety of displays. For example, if the The work is a collaborative effort ment of the iron, to tell if its struc- specimen has a porous structure, involving Brookhaven, the University ture is magnetic. the ideal picture would be one that of Chicago and Linkoping University In future work, the researchers at revealed the interconnections of the in Sweden. this beam line would like to apply pores. Beam line X-14A has been used to the same fluorescence and diffrac- As shown already by the early study iron deposits in the abdomens tion techniques to materials science, experiments done on the three beam of honeybees. Honeybees seem to to answer such basic questions as lines at the NSLS, microtomography have a navigational sense that why micro-additions of certain ele- promises to become a general makes use of the earth's magnetic ments can greatly affect the strength research tool with wide applications. field. Scientists have assumed that and ductility of particular alloys. Recognizing that, the NSLS Depart- this ability is due to the iron parti- The third microtomography beam ment has approved Exxon's plans for cles in their abdomens, which may line, X-10, is operated by Exxon construction of a beam line dedi- act as magnetic guidance sensors. Research and Engineering Company. cated to microtomography research. The work is being done by a collabo- Their goal is to determine various That beam line is expected to be ration of Oak Ridge National Labora- metal and mineral distributions in operational in the next fiscal year. 48 Holography — The View From the Light Source

X-ray holography is a promising technique for obtaining high resolution, three-dimensional images of microscopic objects. At the National Synchrotron Light Source, holo- grams have been recorded at unprecedented resolution.

rom bar code scanners at ing the technique of holography with supermarkets to inspection x-rays, that is. in a region of the elec- Fdevices in a factory, ho- tromagnetic spectrum for which no lography has found practical appli- suitable lasers are available. What is cations in everyday life. Millions of the promise of x-ray holography? Americans even own holograms — High resolution, three-dimensional those imprinted on credit cards to images of microscopic objects, in discourage counterfeiting. particular, biological specimens close While conventional holography to their natural state. uses visible light lasers, at Brook- This forefront research is being haven's National Synchrotron Light done at the NSLS by a collaboration Source (NSLS), scientists are develop- of scientists from Lawrence Berkeley

Hologram of zymogen granules taken with x-rays at the National Synchrotron Light Source and imaged with a transmission electron microscope to obtain magnification. X-rays that pass through this sample material are diffracted by it and c nvey information about its three-dimensional structure. The superpo- sition of these diffracted waves with a straight-through beam forms the many interference fringes that comprise the hologram. These fringes are seen in the figure as the numerous periodic ring and line features. 49

laboratory; the State University of oped in a mixture of methyl isobutyl •Jew York at Stony Brook: the Uni- ketone and isopropyl alcohol. A metal How Holography versity of California, San Francisco: coating of palladium and gold was ind the IBM T.J. Watson Research then evaporated onto the resist sur- Works -enter. face, to enhance the contrast of the The word "hologram" comes With a resolution in the 100- to image. from the Greek words holos ,000-angstrom (A) range, x-ray The holograms that result from and gramma, loosely meaning lolography is, in principle, well- this process are too small to be "the whole message." A liolo iuited for imaging biological speci- viewed easily, so they are imaged gram is a two dimensional nens. The technique uses long wave- with a transmission electron micro- recording that contains the ength x-rays, or "soft" x-rays, which scope to obtain magnification. In information needed to re,con ire often chosen from the spectral these recordings, the holograms of struct a.three dimensional angeof23-44A. the zymogen granules contain cen- final image, usually by illumi Such x-rays have little interaction tral shadows, surrounded by ring- nating the hologram with rtth water molecules, but are like fringes. light. bsorbed by carbon, a primary com- For the final image-forming step, a Holography works with any lonent of proteins and fats. Because method is being developed that uses waves light, sound, x rays, rater does not obscure the picture, numerical techniques to reconstruct even electrons. In tact, holo pecimens can be viewed close to the holograms. The electron micro- heir natural state, without the de- scope recordings are digitized with a tron microscopy. Lasers, how lydration. sectioning, or staining microdensitometer, an optical device ever, are what .are i onven equired by other microscopy tech- that measures the density of photo- tionally used today to make- iques. In general, then, x-ray hol- graphic negatives. The advantages of holograms. graphy. Hke other soft x-ray micro- numerical reconstruction are that A hologram is created by the copic techniques, is expected to aberrations can be avoided, some interference of waves coming ave improved resolution compared imperfections of the readback pro- directly from the laser and the visible light microscope, and cess can be corrected, and problems those waves from the laser, nproved fidelity compared to the of a twin image can be solved. that are- reflected by the lectron microscope. At 400-A resolution, the zymogen object. These two waves. Recently, on beam line X-17 at the granule holograms appear two- called the reference wave and -ray ring of the NSLS, holograms of dimensional because the depth of object wave, respectively, roteins called zymogen granules, focus is about the same as the combine at a film plate, iken from a rat pancreas, were thickness of the samples. By push- recording on the photographic- scorded at about 400-A resolution, ing the resolution down to 100 A, it emulsion an interference' wave his marks a significant advance- should be possible to achieve about pattern similar to what could ent in resolution, since what had 16 levels of depth resolution and, happen at a beach it two waves been achieved in earlier experiments thus, an image that is three- converged from different in x-ray holography had never dimensional to a useful extent. directions and combined to exceeded that of the light In all, however, the unprecedented create a new wave pattern. microscope. resolution of the present holograms Because this interference The improved resolution is due indicates that x-ray holography has " pattern results from both the partially to the use of a magnetic great potential to become a serious strength (amplitude I and rela device called an undulator, which three-dimensional form of micro- tive timing (phasei of the provides a high flux of soft x-rays scopy. To develop the technique object wave, the hologram that are coherent in time and space further, a new undulator is now stores the "whole message" of and have many laser-like properties. being installed on beam line X-l at the light scattered from the Also, a high-resolution resist, rather the NSLS, and future experiments object. than photographic film, is now used will be done using that improved When the hologram is ilium for recording the holograms. device. inated by a laser, it diffracts, In the experiment with zymogen or bends, the light to re create granules, each hologram was the original waves. Viewed recorded on copolymer resist layers from different directions, the deposited on a thin silicon nitride hologram will-bring to life the ' substrate and placed downstream of original object, in.full three the sample. The recording process dimensions, suspended in was carried out by the coherent x-ray space. beam from the undulator, and expo- sure time averaged about one hour. After exposure, the resist was devel- 50 Chemistry Department

The wide variety of research done in the Chemistry Depart- ment encompasses a broad range of experimental and theo- retical work directed toward a fundamental understanding of the properties and reactions of nuclei, atoms and mole- cules. Special facilities, apparatus and techniques available at Brookhaven are used to obtain detailed structural and spectroscopic information on solids, liquids and gases and to elucidate the factors determining the dynamics of physi- cal and chemical change. Specific areas studied include nuclear and radiation chemistry, radiopharmaceuticals, homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, state-to-state chemistry, and thermal and photo-induced charge-transfer processes. Probing Transient Molecules The lifespan of a free radical or a molecular ion is sofleet- ing that to study either one requires a sophisticated tool like an infrared diode laser. In the Chemistry Department such a laser is being used to probe these molecules, impor- tant intermediates in chemical reactions. Five years ago, it couldn't be lived under normal conditions, done. Now the field has a fancy infrared lasers are one of the few name — transient infrared probes sensitive enough to study absorption spectroscopy. them. The critical tool is an infrared Within this field, Brookhaven's diode laser, a recent technological specialty is the study of small mole- marvel that makes possible the cules — each fewer than four or five study of gas-phase molecular ions atoms clustered together. Some of and free radicals in order to learn the ones we study are involved in more about their structures and such reactions as hydrocarbon com- reactions. Such molecules are impor- bustion, reactions in the upper tant intermediates in chemical atmosphere and star formation in reactions. interstellar space. A molecular ion has either lost or When a molecule is excited by the gained one or more electrons, mak- infrared laser, it begins to vibrate, ing it a charged molecule: thus, it is revealing how its atoms are moving highly reactive as it strives to in relation to each other and how become stable by sorting out its elec- fast the entire molecule is rotating in tron count. Similarly, a free radical, space. A molecule can have a handful although a neutral molecule, has an of vibrational states, as well as tens unpaired electron the1 it seeks to of thousands of rotational states, pair up in a bond witii another Infrared diode lasers have very molecule. Because both types of narrow line widths and can be tuned molecules are so reactive and short- to a frequency to match each state of 51

the absorbing molecule. It is the laser. When a CD3I molecule absorbs these states, then we can predict combination of the laser power and a photon, it breaks apart into a CDs with fair accuracy where the others the narrow line width that makes radical and an iodine atom. Without will be. The result is a spectrum that the absorption experiment so sensi- the iodine, the pyramid-shaped CD3 contains thousands of peaks corre- tive to the movements of transient molecule tries to flatten, oscillating sponding to transitions between the molecules. in and out like a flapping umbrella. vibrational and rotational states of Our latest work has focused on a Because the deuterium atoms are the molecule. free radical, methyl-d3 (CD3). Reac- lighter than the carbon atom, they Some of the specific questions we tions involving the methyl radical move even more than the carbon. try to answer are: Do different vibra- occur during hydrocarbon The product CD3 molecule's vibra- tional states react at different rates? combustion. tional and rotational states are stud- Does vibrational energy relate to In an experiment, we start with ied by the infrared laser. One by one, reaction speed? What changes will iodomethane-d3 (CD3I). CD3I is a each vibrational and rotational state occur if a reactant gas is added? convenient chemical precursor of is examined by tuning the laser to Our goal is to establish a quantum CD3 because it is a chemically stable match the molecule's absorption fre- mechanical model, a description of and relatively unreactive molecule. quencies. Several hundred vibration- the structure and dynamical move- First, a gaseous sample of CD3I is rotational states are found this way. ment within a molecule and the briefly irradiated by a pulse of pho- Once we have have determined the interactions between different chem- tons from an ultraviolet excimer positions of a certain number of ical species.

Trevor Sears and Joan Frye adjust optics on the infrared diode laser used to study free radicals and molecular ions. High Pressure Work on Alkanes

Brookhaven's study of electron mobility and reaction in alkanes at high atmospheric pressure is unique in thejield of radiation chemistry.

n the early days of radiation electric field, and mobility measure- chemistry, some 40 years ago. ments can be made by measuring I much of the work focused on the the current caused by electrons mov- effects of radiation on water. Such ing in that field. research was of particular interest In experiments at one atmosphere, because of its application in the electron mobility was measured in design of water-cooled nuclear reac- many alkanes. and a dependence on tors. Similarly, Brookhaven's work molecular structure was discovered. in this field began with water, then The electron mobility in alkanes soon evolved into work with liquids made up of sphere-like molecules in general. was approximately 500 times greater In recent years, one specific project than the mobility in alkanes com- has been the study of electron reac- posed of rod-like molecules. tions and electron mobility in High pressure experiments, at alkanes, a type of organic, or carbon- 3,000 atmospheres, were carried out containing, liquid. The aim of this next, using both types of alkanes. work is to provide a basic under- The pressure did not affect electron standing of the mechanisms of these mobility in alkanes composed of processes. sphere-like molecules, but it did Pressure is a good way to probe decrease the mobility in alkanes of the mobility and reactions of elec- rod-like molecules. trons in liquids. In a study unique to Why a decrease? This is what we Brookhaven. work has been done at theorize: pressures up to 3,000 atmospheres, According to a standard principle far exceeding normal pressure of one of chemical reactions, when a system atmosphere. Such high pressures is stressed, the reaction will shift to are required to squeeze a liquid relieve the stress. In the Brookhaven because of its large internal experiments, because the stress is pressure. pressure, the reaction should shift to Alkanes were chosen for this work the side that has less volume. Indeed, because electron mobility and reac- it does. tivity change widely from one alkane The alkanes with rod-like mole- to another, and scientists still do not cules contain electron traps, which fully understand this behavior. are voids naturally occuring in the Alkanes are insulators (commonly liquid. Electrons are temporarily used in electrical transformers), and trapped in these voids under both electrons are easily detected in these normal and high pressure, but liquids. under high pressure, because the Experiments are done with a two- trapped electron has a smaller million-volt electron Van de Graaff. volume, more of them are caught in Electrons from the Van de Graaff the traps. This necessarily decreases bombard a tungsten target, which the electron mobility. generates x-rays. The x-rays then The same chemical principle can travel into a pressure chamber, explain the results of Brookhaven's where they irradiate the alkane con- experiments on electron reactions in tained there. Molecules in the liquid liquids at high pressures. are ionized, producing electrons. To study such reactions, solutes To do electron mobility studies, (dissolved substances with which electrodes are attached to the the electron will react) are added to chamber. The electrodes provide an the alkane in the chamber. 53

Here is what a typical reaction In preparation Jor an experiment on electron mobility. Richard Holroyd (left) ooks like, using the solute carbon and Kengo Itoh attach electrodes to a high pressure chamber containing an lioxide. (The reaction goes in either alkane sample. The large tank to the right is a two-milUon-volt electron Van de lirection, as indicated by the Graajf, used in this experiment as well as in companion studies of electron irrows.) reactions in alkanes.

e + CO2 - CO2 Experiments at normal pressure lave established the value of the Again, this effect can be explained jquilibrium constant, called K, by the same chemical principle that vhich is the ratio of the forward was applied to the mobility study. eaction rate, divided by the reverse Under pressure, there is a volume •ate. decrease in this reaction as the „ rate- alkane contracts around the CO2. ^~ rate- That is, the volume of CO2 is consid- Jn experiments at a pressure of erably less than that of CO2. so pres- $00 atmospheres, the value of K is sure shifts the equilibrium to the en-fold larger than what it is in right. We theorize that the effect is xperiments at normal pressure, quite general, and that other solutes such a large pressure effect is will behave consistently. This theory jnprecedented. is currently being tested. 54

Hot Oxygen Atoms Yield New Chemistry

Armed with a new technique. Brookhaven chemists can now fully explore the chemistry of hot oxygen atoms. onsider collisions between oxygen atoms and stable Cmolecules. If they occur at room temperature, these collisions often result in predictable chemistry. On the other hand, if the oxygen atoms have excess kinetic energy — if they are "hot" — then new and unusual chemistry can result. Such unusual chemistry can come about either through hot atom interactions with chemical bonds that might otherwise be chemically inert, or by yielding highly excited reaction intermediates that can dis- sipate their excess energy through less conventional pathways. Investigating the chemistry occur- ring under both these circumstances can lead to a better understanding of the complex chemistry involved in a variety of processes such as photo- synthesis, combustion, and the chemistry in the upper atmosphere and even in the cosmos. Thus, hot oxygen atom chemistry is not only of fundamental interest, but also has practical applications. In general, the field of hot atom chemistry has centered on the study of atom-molecule reactions at ener- gies in the upper end of the chemical reaction range — between one and about 20 electron volts (eV). The chemistry of hot oxygen atoms, how- ever, has never been fully explored. That is because conventional nucleogenic techniques (those using atoms derived from nuclear reac- tions) for studying these atom- molecule reactions are difficult to use with oxygen atoms, due to the Richard Ferrieri checks gasjlow to the sputtering chamber on the Chemistry extremely short half-life of oxygen's Department's isotope separator. principal radioactive isotope. Within the last two years, however, Brookhaven has developed a novel approach for doing hot oxygen atom chemistry. It uses a hot atom source that relies on ion beam sputtering. The basic procedure is as follows: First, a 40-kilovolt argon ion beam is generated at high intensity in the 55

Chemistry Department's isotope eparator. then focused onto a metal axide target. Neutral oxygen atoms ^n their ground state are ejected from the surface of this target through one or more sputtering lechanisms. These atoms typically possess kinetic energies in excess of eV. At the same time, a reactive gas is |introduced into the surrounding egion in order to promote chemistry rtth these atoms. The reaction pro- iucts are then collected and ana- pyzed. In addition, transient species ire monitored directly through mass |speetrometry. Together, these pieces )f information provide a rather com- Iplete picture of the primary atom- Imolecule reactions and the chemical Geometric isomers. cis and trans, of a 2-butene molecule. These isomers are made up of atoms of carbon (represented by the balls) and hydrogen (H). In |fate of their intermediates. each isomer. the dotted loops represent the overlapping orbitals of the double Most recently, the reactions of hot bond. loxygen atoms with 2-butene have [been investigated. In this hydrocar- l molecule, the second and third pathway at high energy could not be normally contains oxygen-16, will be I carbon atoms are double bonded to assessed. enriched with oxygen-18 in order to make it an alkene. Because of the The Brookhaven experiments have generate a source of hot oxygen-18 rigidity of the double bond, this shown that at energies above 1 eV. atoms. The alkene reactant will be molecule can also exist as two dis- the hydroxyl-forming pathway is replaced with formaldehyde, which Jtinct geometric isomers. differing actually the dominant reaction mode contains only the naturally occur- (only in the position of the groups of a ground-state oxygen atom. It is ring oxygen-16 isotope. This addi- attached to the double-bonded car- believed, however, that more than tion reaction will yield a biradical bon atoms. Information gathered on one mechanism is responsible for intermediate similar in many the structural differences of reaction the formation of these radicals. In respects to that generated in products from each isomer can pro- addition to direct abstraction, a 2-butene. ) Vide insight into the finer details of hydroxy\ radical may form when an Two outcomes are possible. If the | oxygen atom chemistry with alkenes. oxygen atom attaches to a carbon hydmxyl radical is formed with any It is well-known that at room atom at the double bond site and a oxygen-16, then an intermediate temperature ground-state oxygen hydrogen atom migrates across the step has taken place that involves an atoms will react with any alkene newly formed carbon-oxygen bond. If internal rearrangement described almost exclusively by addition to the this bond should break, it would earlier. On the other hand, if the double bond. This process yields a release a hydroxyl radical that is hydroxyl radical carries only oxygen- biradical intermediate that pos- indistinguishable from the one 18. then it has been formed by direct sesses two unpaired electrons — one formed by direct abstraction. abstraction. on the oxygen atom and one on the Theoretical studies predict that One way or the other, the formal- carbon atom located adjacent to the internal rearrangements of this type dehyde experiment will establish the addition site. Depending on the con- are not likely to occur naturally specifics of the hydroxyl-forming ditions for reaction and the complex- because the energy needed to reach pathways that occur at high energy. ity of the alkene, this intermediate the transition state tends to be It's one example of how Brookhav- can decompose or it can stabilize by enormous. This restriction, however, en's novel sputtering technique has a variety of internal rearrangements. should not apply in the high energy paved the way for new research in A long-standing presumption has experiments conducted at hot atom chemistry- been that at higher kinetic energies Brookhaven. an oxygen atom might also react To find out what really happens in with an alkene by removing a hydro- the hydroxyl-forming pathway at gen atom from the alkene to form a high energies, an experiment is hydroxyl radical, a process called planned in which the target and (he direct abstraction. Until now. reactant gas will be changed. The though, the importance of this metal oxide target material, which 56 Medical Department

Scientists in the Medical Department use the unique physi- cal and chemical science resources and other facilities at Brookhaven to develop new approaches for medical applica- tions of nuclear technology and to understand human health effects of energy-related agents. Research issues include improved methods of radiotherapy and nuclear med- icine procedures; development of new radiopharmaceuticals and methods for non-invasive measurement of human trace- elements; and mechanisms of disease caused by energy- related agents.

Breakthrough in Testing For Lead Toxicity

An award-winning invention at Brookhaven has made it easier to diagnose lead toxicity, a condition threatening up to Jour million children in the U.S. today.

ver the last ten years, invented that quickly and easily improved environmental detects low, but still hazardous, lev- Oregulations and health care els of lead in preschool children, have lessened the number of severe These low levels of lead can result lead poisoning cases in the United in the child's IQ being compromised States. But lower levels of lead in the before parents are aware of the body are still a chronic problem. cause. The child's weight, growth There are millions of American and behavior can also be affected, homes with pre-1960, lead- and the developing central nervous containing paint that can peel from system can be permanently the walls. Many are in urban areas, impaired. which have the added burden of To identify lead toxicity. Brook- atmospheric lead from vehicles or haven's new device relies on the fact factories. In. such homes, young that 60 to 80 percent of the lead in a children, who often put their hands child's body accumulates in the in their mouths, are at risk from the bone. After much research, the key insidious condition of lead toxicity. breakthrough came with the use of a The Centers for Disease Control low energy, partially polarized x-ray estimates that from two to four mil- beam. This allows the lead to be lion children in the U.S. today are more easily detected. The idea was endangered by undiagnosed lead first validated using polarized radia- toxicity. Yet routine tests for the tion with aqueous samples. Then the condition are too time-consuming same principles were proved to be and costly to be generally available. effective for patients. Now, in Brookhaven's Medical The beam comes from an x-ray Department, a device has been tube onto about two square centime- ters of leg bone. It stimulates the a further, often painful, test, requir- Initial clinical trials on about 100 lead in the bone to emit low energy, ing careful monitoring in a hospital children have given an excellent con- characteristic x-ray fluorescence for at least eight hours. The new XRF cordance, about 80%, between the (XRF), which shows as an energy process, which may replace the pres- standard (calcium EDTA) and the spectrum and is measured in a spe- ent calcium EDTA test, is painless new test. cial detector. Then the amount of and takes only 15 minutes. Equipment refinements are lead in bone is calculated. The BNL instrument, a 1987 expected to reduce the test time to Because the test relies on low winner of Research and Develop- about eight minutes and improve energy x-rays, the radiation dose to ment magazine's prestigious I-R 100 the diagnostic sensitivity. A mobile the bone marrow is less than the award for technological achievement, unit is being designed in collabora- amount from a single dental x-ray — is currently being evaluated at the tion with the Montefiore group as a from a radiological point of view, Pediatrics Department of the Monte- prototype for assessing children in truly negligible. fiore Medical Center in the Bronx. high-risk areas of New York City. As well as the low-dose advantage, Both the conventional and the new Lead toxicity diagnosis will thus the low energy x-rays measure only methods are used to test pre-school become more readily available to superficial bone tissue, eliminating children suspected of lead toxicity. those needing it. the need to account for shape and thickness of the bone. These x-rays, however, are easily attenuated by the soft tissue over the bone. This atten- uation is calculated by using an ultrasonic unit to measure the over- lying tissue thickness. The tibia is the most suitable bone to use, as it is covered by the least amount of soft tissue. Extensive post mortem exper- iments, in which intact bones were analyzed by XRF and then by atomic absorption spectroscopy, proved the accuracy of the new method. Another advantage of low energy x- rays is that concentrations of iron, copper, zinc, bromine, rubidium and strontium in the bone or overlying soft tissue may also be calculated, if desired. The main advantage of the new invention, however, is the speed and ease with which it makes possible an accurate assessment of the need for therapy in lead-toxic children. The conventional procedure requires a blood sample, which can be difficult to get from some young children. Moreover, the procedure identifies only the fraction of lead absorbed during the previous few months. In contrast, the BNL instrument mea- sures bone lead accumulation over a child's whole lifetime. In the foreground. Lucien Wielopolski checks the height of the scanner on the With the conventional method, device for measuring lead content in children, while John Rothmann Jr. fright) children with blood lead levels above adjusts its position. Daniel Slatkin (left) corrects the seating angle for Courtney 25 micrograms per deciliter undergo Rowe. who is assuming the role of a patient being screened. 58 To Better the Odds Against Cancer

Giant steps in improved technology may have brought neu tron capture therapy to the brink of success in destroying certain fatal cancers. espite decades of effort from the boron level in the tumor becomes many of the world's best higher than in most of the healthy Dmedical researchers, the cells. This level can remain constant, average cancer patient has only a while the level in the blood tends to 50% chance of a cure. Certain brain drop. £ cancers, such as glioblastomas, are The tumor is then targeted from almost invariably fatal within a year. outside the body by a neutron beam. At present, cancer can be treated Boron has a high affinity for neu- in three ways, each with a disadvan- trons and absorbs them. It then tage. Surgery can leave behind mi- "self-destructs" by splitting in two. nute outgrowths that later spread. thus releasing its own radiation, Chemotherapy is likely to poison which is intense enough to destroy other parts of the body. And radia- the cancer cells containing it, but tion can damage healthy tissue, so not the adjoining cells. Areas such as that tumor dose can only reach the the bone marrow, liver and gut. limit tolerated by the surrounding which may also contain high boron normal tissue. levels, are not included in the treat- So the problem remains: how to ment volume and thus remain destroy all parts of a tumor without undamaged. harming the normal tissue around Two main obstacles had hampered it. earlier attempts to use this tech- Right now, in Brookhaven"s Medi- nique: making the neutrons pene- cal Department, the outlook is trate deeply into the cancer tumor brightened by new and promising and getting the boron compound to technological developments in neu- stay in the tumor, yet leave the blood tron capture therapy. Already, in the and normal tissues around it. United States, this therapy has over- Through continuing research, come some brain cancers in mice. much of it here at Brookhaven, Preliminary clinical studies by the these obstacles have been largely Japanese on people with brain overcome. tumors and melanoma have also First, our staff has produced a shown hopeful results, even though beam that penetrates tumors effec- these efforts have not yet incorpo- tively. Working with Idaho National rated the latest improved technology Engineering Laboratory, we are now that is now available. optimizing the beam with different filters to reduce the number of fast These results have paved the way neutrons, which damage tissue. for Brookhaven to start clinical tests Testing the boron level to find the of neutron capture therapy on best time to start the radiation patients with melanoma. treatment used to be a very difficult, In neutron capture therapy, a non- multi-hour process. Now, new tech- toxic substance, boron-10, is niques provide boron analyses in a attached to one of several biomole- matter of minutes. Also, collabora- cules that, when injected into the tion with West German scientists at patient, will serve as a vehicle to the University of Bremen has pro- transport boron to the tumor. duced a process at Brookhaven in Partly because the boron carrier is which a radiographic picture shows specially attracted to tumors, and the amount and distribution of also because cancer cells are often boron within tissues. Boron com- more permeable to various materials, pounds that concentrate in rapidly 59

'rowing regions of tumor are it. Clinical trials have already begun Ralph Fairchild and Brenda Laster :hosen, and treatment can be with some of our collaborators in check the geometrical alignment of started based on up-to-date informa- Ohio State University, North Shore cancer cells in suspension before ion on boron levels in blood. University Hospital and the State irradiating them with thermal neu- The second major difficulty was in University of New York at Stony trons at the Brookhaven Medical Jetting the right boron compound. Brook, using radiolabeled thiouracil Research Reactor. Jrookhaven's Medical Research for diagnosis and treatment. teactor and development of boron Another, most exciting discovery of inalysis methods give us first place a potential boron vehicle has been n techniques for analyzing boron. porphyrins, which are compounds Ve have tested compounds from all widely found in nature, including >ver the world to find the best com- humans. After many years of testing, >inations of boron and the tumor- we have preliminary data, from work seeking vehicles such as amino with the University of California, San icids, porphyrins, antibodies, lipo- Francisco, indicating that some of iotnes, nucleosides, steroids and these porphyrins should be useful. nelanaffinic agents. They go to tumors avidly, so that One melanaffinic agent, thiouracil, enough boron arrives at the tumor vas found to have such a powerful in time for one dose to be sufficient. ittraction to melanin, the pigment Also, since porphyrins are attracted bund in a particularly lethal cancer, to all tumors, there is a good, long- nelanoma, that a successful "spin- range potential for this process to be )ff" program has developed around applied to all cancers. 60

Magic Bullets Find Their Target

To target tumors, to target blood clots — and yet not harm the healthy cells around them. This is the object of research on antibodies that travel through the body to attack disease. magine a radioactive "magic bullet" shooting through a Ipatient's body to track and kill the enemy, cancer. The "bullet" is a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody, and perfecting this method of detect- ing and eliminating tumors is one of the priorities of frontier medical research. At Brookhaven, research on monoclonal antibodies is an ongoing concern. Our studies led to a request in 1986 by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that the Laboratory organize a two-week Advanced Study Institute in Italy. There, intensive discussions by leading international experts and researchers clearly dem- onstrated worldwide interest in this field. Antibodies are natural trouble- shooters, each rushing towards a particular disease-causing intruder, or antigen, in order to destroy it. The antibodies are of the globulin type of proteins similar to those generally present in the blood. In 1975, British researchers discovered a method for the exact copying, or cloning, of antibodies, which subsequently allowed the large-scale production of highly specific "monoclonal" anti- bodies. Monoclonal antibodies have been developed against antigens of most common solid tumors and for various skin, blood and soft tissue cancers. Monoclonal antibodies, combined with a radioactive "label," can be tracked while on their mission to find and attack their antigen prey. Thus, radiolabeled antibodies act as guides to the tumor's position, for diagnostic imaging. They also act as Suresh Srivastava tests the integrity of labeled monoclonal antibodies using a treatment, delivering lethal doses high-performance liquid chromatography instrumentation. of radiation to the tumor. 61

The Platelet Antibody Platelets are a part of the blood found in high concen tration around new blood clots. Accurate knowledge of their movements can give vital information lor patient monitoring. The problem was to find an antibody that would track platelets, and then, an appro priate radiolabel to enable the B anjibody to be used. In 19H3. researchers at the These photographs are of a dog treated with 7E3. an antiplatelet antibody that State University of New York travels through the body to show the position of fresh blood clots. The antibody 7E3 was discovered by Barry Coller. State University of New York at Stony at Stony Brook found 7F.3. an Brook (SUNYI. The antibody was successfully radlolabeled and evaluated at antiplatelet antibody. A collab Brookhaven by Suresh Srivastaoa and Prantika Som. in collaboration with Zvi orative effort between Stony Oster. SUNY. Picture A shows the image seen by a scanner sensitive to labeled Brook and Brookhaven led to 7E3. indicating that there is a blood clot in the lung (arrow points to clot). Pic- iodine and indium labels ture B is an x-ray of the dog's lungs and heart and shows the position of the allowing the antibody to be blood clot in the lung (indicated by bar). used for clot detection. Further research showed that a different antibody 5011.19, labeled with Present investigations at Brook- ity and cross-react with normal technetium 99m. was even haven are primarily focused on tissue. Once the reasons for these better because technetium is understanding the chemistry and unwanted effects are understood, the more suitable for imaging and biology of labeling, including prob- problems can be overcome. exposes the patient to less lems related to the label, or radio- Resolving these questions is made radiation. A kit was developed nuclide. itself. This knowledge is easier with a large choice of radio- to simplify the process of crucial in order to develop labeled nuclides available for study. BNL is labeling antiplatelet anti antibodies with the best possible unique in having more on-site facili- ( bodies, a process that other performance for imaging and ties for making different radionu- wise would have required a treating tumors. clides than any other research cen- chemistry lab and highly We have found that radionuclides ter. For example, a variety of trained technicians. emitting beta radiation are the most diagnostic and therapeutic radionu- clides are made in the High Flux Labeled antiplatetet anti effective for this purpose. Their bodies have been evaluated for energy is enough to kill tumor cells, Beam Reactor and with the BLIP (Brookhaven Linac Isotope Producer) their effectiveness in locating yet stops short of damaging sur- experimental blood clots in rounding healthy tissue. Also, their facility. Many more can also be made in our several cyclotrons. •animals. This approach has range in the body tissue (between proved so successful that din one and ten millimeters) makes Our investigations on the ways of ical testing is now planned. them more effective against antigens labeling monoclonal antibodies have Some of the advantages we that are generally present in patches led to a new concept in which each within tumor masses. envision from this non "magic bullet" becomes, in addition, invasive technique include: Dosimetry is another focal point of a "time-release capsule." being able to locate the exact our research. Here, the ideal amount This is achieved by selecting radio- position of a blood clot, moni of radiation for treating tumors in nuclide labels with a fairly short life toring whether a dot is being patients must be balanced against so that when they reach the tumor, dispersed by medication, the amount of a safe dose to normal they are ready to decay into even diagnosing damage within tissue, especially the radiation- shorter-lived "daughters." With each blood vessel walls early sensitive bone marrow. decay, high energy beta radiation is enough to allow treatment, Retaining the immunological spe- emitted and destroys the tumor, and determining whether cificity of the antibodies after they without significant effect on healthy ..coronary bypass surgery have been labeled is yet another tissue. Much theoretical work has wounds are healing correctly. point of research. Within the body, been completed, and experiments to Iantibodies can display some instabil- test the theory are planned. 62 Biology Department

Brookhaven's biologists study a variety of topics that range from cellular organelles. to biochemical reactions and to bio- physical techniques. In recent years, the Biology Depart- ment's Center for Structural Biology has built an active research program on the department's beam lines at the National Synchrotron Light Source and the High Flux Beam Reactor. A Golden Opportunity

The smallest antibody label ever has been developed by Brookhavenfor use under the electron microscope. The label consists of 11 gold atoms attached to part of an antibody. n what has been heralded as a example, has 5.000 iron atoms and golden opportunity for structural gives a resolution of 125 angstroms, Ibiologists. Brookhaven has devel- while a single heavy atom has a reso- oped for use in its Scanning Trans- lution of two angstroms. mission Electron Microscope (STEM) a new label that makes it feasible to Scientists tried for several years to tag submolecular sites on nucleic use single heavy atoms as labels, but acids, proteins and other molecules two problems persisted. A very high at closer range than has ever before dose of electrons was required to see been possible. The new marker, five a heavy atom, thus partially destroy- to ten times smaller than any label ing the very biological specimen currently in use. consists of 11 gold being studied. Also, the microscope's atoms attached to what is called the electron beam had enough energy to Fab' portion of an antibody. break bonds, thereby freeing the heavy atom from the site it was sup- Antibodies are proteins that exist posed to mark. naturally in the blood and are pro- duced in response to infection by Eventually, researchers turned foreign substances, called antigens. away from single heavy atoms and To eliminate the source of infection, began looking at clusters of atoms. antibodies bind to antigens. Because Under the microscope, they turned specific antibodies go to specific out to have a core of about eight sites on proteins, they can be used to angstroms; in addition, they were label those sites for viewing under stable in the beam, they didn't move an electron microscope — if the around, and they could be visualized antibody label can be made to glitter. at a lower dose. as it were, like gold. Gold and other The next step was to make stable heavy atoms show up under STEM as clusters that could be used to label bright spots. biological molecules. Several years Heavy atoms were first seen under ago. two university research groups an electron microscope in 1970. It synthesized a derivative of a gold soon became apparent that if they cluster. It was soluble in water, as could be seen, they could also serve are most biological structures, and it as markers. The typical markers had only one site where it would then in use were large. Ferritin. for react with another compound. Using that particular gold cluster a problem with larger labels, and it as a starting point. Brookhaven set will also make possible higher reso- about attaching it to an antibody, to lution images. Second, the gold is make the smallest antibody label attached to the fragment in a posi- ever. tion that will not interfere with the The procedure we developed is as antibody's reactivity. follows: An antibody is cleaved to In doing this work, we originally obtain the active part, the portion used an antigen-binding fragment (antigen-binding fragment, or Fab') from a specific rabbit antibody. that binds to specific antigens. Then Further tests of the procedure have the gold cluster is reacted with the shown that other rabbit and even fragment. As the metal complex mouse monoclonal (all identical) binds onto the fragment, it does so antibodies work as well. Now we at the opposite end of the antibody suspect that the labeling procedure to which an antigen would bind. will be applicable to many anti- The resulting label has two impor- bodies, including those of hurnans. tant characteristics. First, because So although the gold label has been only the active part of the antibody is specifically developed for use with used, the size of the label is kept to a electron microscopy, we also envi- minimum. That means the label sion the potential for a marker to itself will not obscure small struc- locate, image and destroy malignant tures or parts that are being probed, cells and tumors in the human body.

James Hainfeld in his laboratory, withdrawing a purified sample of the recently developed gold antibody label for electron i.iicroscopy. The new label is five to ten times smaller than antibody labels currently in use. 64 Mismatch Repair — Nature's Remedy for Mistakes

Organisms have mechanisms for detecting and correcting mismatches in DNA replication. Brookhaven's biologists are studying the details of mismatch repair in a bacterial system.

Sanford Lacks reads a DNA sequenc- NA is the essence of life —the ing gel to determine the DNA sequence | basic substance of the chro- of the hexA mismatch repair gene. D mosome, the carrier of hereditary characteristics. To con- tinue the chain of life. DNA must be able to make identical copies of itself that transmit genetic information to the next generation. When DNA fails to replicate properly, mutations occur. 65

Brookhaven's biologists have a integrated so that breaks still exist ong history of studying how living at either end of (he segment. Once cells can repair their DNA. One spe- the donor it rand is removed, the cific area of interest is in the repair host strand serves as a template for of mismatches in DNA. the correct synthesis of its A DNA molecule is a long, two- complement. stranded chain made up of subunits Two bacterial genes, hexA and called nucleotides, each containing a hexB. are essential players in the sugar, a phosphate group and one of Hex repair system. In fact, we found four bases: adenine (A), guanine (G). that mutations in these genes affect hymine (T) or cytosine (C). The not only repair after transformation jases are complementary: in other but repair after replication, which words, G only pairs with C. and A means that the same Hex repair sys- mly with T. A section of the chain, tem is responsible for mutation or example, might read: avoidance. The hexA and hexB genes were ...GAATCCG... cloned and the products they encode ...CTTAGGC... have been identified as large pro- teins of molecular weight 95,000 and In replication, the strands sepa- 83.000, respectively. Although their •ate, and new complementary bases precise functions and other bio- ire laid down, resulting in two new chemical details of the repair process louble-stranded chains. Occasion- remain to be determined, these pro- dly. however, a mistake is made in teins probably act together to recog- eplication. and a mismatch of bases nize both the mismatch and the >ccurs. That altered sequence, called strand breaks and to remove the i mutation, can disrupt the normal DNA strand between the breaks. unction of genes, which determine Related work on the bacterium he proteins that are made by the Escherichia coli and its close rela- iody. tive Salmonella typhimurium has Fortunately, nature has a way of shown that they, too, have a mis- aking care of mistakes. Work at match repair system, called Mut. Jrookhaven has shown that an which is in many ways similar to the •rganism has a mechanism for Hex repair system. Jetecting and correcting mis- After determining the DNA •natches, thereby preventing sequence of tne hexA gene of S. nutations. pnewnoniae, we compared it to the In studying mismatch repair, we sequence of the mutS gene of S. ase a bacterium called Streptococcus typhimurium, determined by oneumoniae. It's ideal for this researchers elsewhere. The two •esearch because of its natural abil- genes turn out to be similar in struc- ty to undergo genetic change, or ture — 36 percent of the amino acids :ransformation, when foreign DNA is in the protein sequence of the pro- aken up from outside the cells. ducts they encode are identical. This In transformation, one strand of is proof that the Hex and Mut sys- he double-stranded donor DNA tems evolved from a common ances- inters the cell and substitutes for tor, perhaps a billion years ago. :he corresponding strand segment Evidence is also emerging for sim- n the host cell's own DNA. Differ- ilar systems of mismatch repair in ences between donor and host create yeast and mammalian cells. This nismatches. and certain mis- strongly suggests that mismatch natches, namely G/T and A/C. are repair in higher organisms evolved •ecognized more easily than others. from an ancient repair system in We have identified a repair system, bacteria. Certainly, Brookhaven's :alled Hex. that corrects a mismatch research on the bacterial repair sys- jy eliminating the entire donor tem will help elucidate the mismatch strand segment. The repair will repair mechanism in cells of higher >ccur. however, only if the donor organisms, such as man. .egment has not been completely 66

matic (just one "color" of x-rays), the rays are focused to a very small Beaming In point, and they are nearly parallel. All of these characteristics combine to give a strong signal that is easily dis- On Structural Biology tinguished from background noise. Another way to quantify the merits Structural biology is the focus of two beam lines built and of the NSLS is to realize that data col- operated by the Biology Department at the x-ray ring of the lection here is 30 to 50 times faster National Synchrotron Light Source. than with conventional sources. What would ordinarily take months tructure determines function. now takes days. To a structural biologist, that With time and beam quality such Sstatement represents both a important factors, it's no wonder host of implied questions and a that during the ten months of actual basis for answering them. operating time, beam line X-12C has Two experimental beam lines on had about 30 different groups of the x-ray ring of Brookhaven's users, including several involving National Synchrotron Light Source Brookhaven biologists. These (NSLS) are devoted to structural biol- research groups are investigating a ogy research. Here, the structures of variety of topics: a study of a com- various biological macromolecules plete photosynthetic complex; the and biomolecular assemblies are bonding of anti-viral drugs to the studied to learn about their struc- common cold virus; the arrangement ture and, hence, their function. The of pigment molecules in phycoery- two beam lines can be distinguished thrin, a protein that harvests light by the types of samples used. for photosynthesis; and the binding Single crystals of proteins are of substrates to phosphorylase. a studied on beam lineX-12C, which muscle enzyme that turns glycogen has been operating since 1985. This (the chief storage carbohydrate in area of research, called crystallog- animals) into glucose during raphy, allows one to determine the exercise. Robert Sweet and Donna Cyr adjust a detailed three-dimensional atomic protein crystal specimen on the x-ray The second of the two structural camera in the Biology Department's structure of protein molecules. The biology beam lines at the NSLS is X- X-12C experimental hutch at the technique works as follows: When x- 12B. Being built as a collaborative National Synchrotron Light Source. rays scatter from the ordered array effort involving Brookhaven's Biology The x-ray beam comes from the left of protein molecules in a crystal, they Department, Instrumentation Divi- and passes through monitors and a form a beautiful and often symmet- sion and NSLS Department, the shutter before striking the crystal. Dif- ric array of individual rays, known as beam line is expected to be ready for fraction data are measured on x-ray a diffraction pattern. This pattern experiments in mid-1988. film in the flat cassettes on the carou- can be recorded on x-ray film for At this beam line, the samples to sel to the right later analysis that will reveal the be studied will not be crystalline. molecular structure of the crystal. Rather, they will be materials or fi- X-rays are good probes of biologi- bers in solution, or membranes. Data cal structure. A difficulty with x-rays, will be taken as a function of time. however, is that biological molecules The technique is called time-resolved are subject to radiation damage, and x-ray diffractometry. damaged molecules cannot retain Numerous groups have expressed precise crystalline order. This dam- interest in using X-12B. Examples of age limits the detail of the structural the kinds of research to be done information that can be derived. include: muscle structure and func- Paradoxically, the very powerful NSLS tion under various physiological x-ray beam, which allows data collec- conditions; binding interaction tion to proceed very rapidly, is more between proteins, proteins and useful for biological structural stud- nucleic acids, or changes in protein ies than the less intense x-ray or nucleic acid structure induced by sources used at most universities. environmental factors such as acid- Other advantages of the NSLS ity and substrate binding; microtu- beam are that it is very monochro- bule assembly (tubulins are protein 67

molecules that form the skeleton of a cell): and ribosome structure (within cells, ribosomes synthesize proteins from amino acids). The beam line will offer researchers three sample-handling devices. One will make possible static measurements of biomolecular samples in solution, as well as sam- ples organized in planar fashion, such as membranes. The second instrument, called a goniometer, will permit oriented samples, for exam- ple, muscle fibers, to be positioned in the beam in any orientation. The third piece of equipment, a stopped- flow device, will accommodate all Phis triptych shows a small segment of a protein molecule, the structure of kinetic studies — those involving vhich is being determined with data from beam line X-12C at the National changes such as binding interac- iynchrotron Light Source. The colored "chicken wire" cage represents regions tions and ribosome assembly. if high electron density in the crystal. The black framework represents the With these three instruments, the nolecular model that has been built to match the density. In the triptych, beam line will have such versatility vhich allows one to perceive the object in three dimensions, the first and third mages are left-eye views and the middle one is for the right eye. To see a sin- that essentially any biological system jle image in 3-D. cover image 3 and relax the eyes to view image 1 with the left can be examined, then perturbed in '.ye and image 2 with the right eye. If that doesn't work, cover image 1 and various ways, and the structural TOSS your eyes, viewing image 2 with the right eye and image 3 with the left. changes measured. The two beam lines, X-12B for time-resolved x-ray diffractometry studies and X-12C for protein crys- tallography work, provide comple- mentary tools for structural biolo- gists. Together, they will be a powerful combination.

Paul Levin (left) and Malcolm Capel align the Biology Department's small angle scattering spectrometer located on beam line X-12B at the National Synchrotron Light Source. 68 Applied Mathematics Department

Understanding the properties of equations, investigating new techniques for analyzing data — this kind of basic research in mathematics, statistics and computer science forms an integral part of the work in the Applied Mathemat- ics Department. The department operates BNL's major cen- tral computers and communication networks, including the telephone system; gives Laboratory-wide assistance in pro- gramming; and provides computer equipment maintenance services. Another responsibility is to plan for and develop future data processing facilities and tools. The Computer Connection

Through a vast network of interconnected computer sys- tems, scientists at Brookhaven can exchange information simultaneously with colleagues in the next building, across the continent or overseas.

elephoning a friend, watching Now. many updated and newly TV, sending data from one installed systems later, the Network- Tcomputer terminal to another ing, Engineering, and Telecommuni- — in any of these activities involving cations Division in AMD is responsi- telecommunication, a user is imme- ble for access to a vast system of diately connected to a destination by interconnected networks that open a network of invisible, "magic" communications for Brookhaven on pathways in which distance is of no a local, country-wide and interna- account. tional scale. Mini, super-mini, work- At a scientific research center station and mainframe computers in such as Brookhaven, the most mod- any department can be linked to ern communication techniques each other or to general facilities. must be available. In 1966. the Con- trol Data Corporation Model 6600 On-Sitc Networking computer in the Applied Mathemat- Much local networking is accom- ics Department (AMD) was the most plished through a data switch called powerful in existence, and the a PACX, for Private Automated Com- Laboratory's first steps In network- puter exchange. When PACX was ing were taken as smaller computers installed in 1979, it could handle were gradually linked to it. 256 terminals. Now, it is supporting By the early 70s, we had perfected 1,024 terminals that can access any E3ROOKNET. an early networking sys- one of dozens of different systems. tem that became a prototype in the Computer-to-computer and worksta- field. Since then. Brookhaven has tion local area networking are typi- found itself more than once in the cally accessed by the standard position of a pioneer in using and Ethernet and TCP/IP protocols. (A evaluating, if not actually developing, protocol is a set of rules governing a new computer communication the interaction among networked facility. devices.) 69

One specialized local area network laboratories and 14 universities, tional networks that pioneered inks all terminals devoted to CAD including Cornell with its super- packet-switching techniques. This :AM (computer-aided design and computer. In turn. Cornell is linked means that communications are manufacturing) to the Central with four other supercomputers treated like packets of mail, users Scientific Computing Facility. To across the country, in California. being switched instantaneously Teate this network, we added miles Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsyl- through a series of links to the final )f 18-strand. fiber-optic cables to the vania, making them all eventually destination. Brookhaven's link is communications lines already exist - accessible to NYSERNet users. through New York University. ng underground. This cabling pro- Other national and international • USENET: Sends and delivers ides a head start toward the even- networks operating at Brookhaven electronic mail nationwide. ual installation of a fiber-optic data are: lighway that we expect to provide a • HEPnet: This pioneering net- Special Networks "backbone" for the next generation work service, developed in part at the State-of-the-art networking tech- )f on-site networking. Laboratory, links high energy phys- niques and equipment are also used ics users. in specially built network systems Wide-Area Networking • BlTnet: Sends files and mes- running in some of our bigger facili- One of the wide-area networks sages to many other sites including ties like the Alternating Gradient nost recently installed allows users national labs and CERN (the Euro- Synchrotron or the National Syn- iccess to electronic communication pean high energy physics chrotron Light Source. These net- it 56.000 bits per second (bps). laboratory). works, while local to their own vhich will eventually rise to 1.5 mil- • TELEnet: A commercial service departments, are also "bridged" so ion bps. At this speed, the entire that allows users to communicate that they can access the other local contents of the Encyclopaedia Brit- with computers at CERN. networks on site. anica could be transmitted in five • MFEnet: Ties users in the Programs in which BNL ninutes. Brookhaven is one of the energy research community to the researchers collaborate, such as the irst to be linked to this supemet- Cray supercomputers at the Mag- D-zero detector for a high energy vork system, called NYSERNet. for the netic Fusion Energy Laboratory at physics experiment being prepared Jew York State Education Research Lawrence Livermore National Labor- for the Tevatron at Fermi National Network. atory in California. Accelerator Laboratory, also benefit NYSERNet links up computers at • ARPAnet/MILnet: One of the ear- from our enormous reservoir of net- Jrookhaven. several industrial liest and most extensive interna- working power.

George Rabinowitz (left) and Arnold Peskin check on equipment that links Brookhaven to the NYSERNet system and. thus, to five supercomputers across the U.S. 70

Reactor Division The High Flux Beam Reactor at Brookhaven is among the most advanced research reactors in the world. Since it became operative in 1965, a tradition of outstanding research has been developed by the international com- munity of scientists working there. Operated by the Reactor Division, the reactor provides intense beams of thermal neutrons used for experiments in nuclear and solid state physics, metallurgy, nuclear and structural chemistry, biology and medicine. The HFBR — A Premier Source of Neutrons

The hundreds of trillions of neutrons being produced every second by the High Flux Beam Reactor are needed for many different experiments. For example, neutrons are exceptionally useful in probing some of the phenomena thought to explain how the new, high temperature super- conducters work.

Nick Houvener (top) and David Rathjen prepare equipment for a chemical crystallography experiment at the High Fhix Beam Reactor. 71

mong the most striking withdrawn to increase the neutron examples of atomic energy ilux and inserted to shut the reactor The Cold Neutron Abeing harnessed for peace- down. Facility time scientific use is Brookhaven's The reactor operates 24 hours a High Flux Beam Reactor (HFBR). day, approximately 74 percent of the Each second, the HHSR pro Nuclear and solid state physicists, year, providing researchers with vides hundreds of trillions of chemists, and biologists from all over neutrons for their experiments. neutrons with ;m avrjage the world use the neutrons produced Remaining time is used for mainte- energy of 2f> milli electron by the HFBR to study basic questions nance and testing. volts and wavelengths of about about nuclear, atomic and molecular two angstroms. But some matter. At any given time, the Research research of 15 to 20 experimental For the past twenty years, neu- that are less energetic and teams is dependent on the beams trons from the HFBR have been used have longer wavelengths. from this intense source of neutrons. in a wealth of outstanding experi- These can be done only at the ments. During the course of a year, HFBR's Cold Neutron Facility at least 200 visiting scientists and ICNFI. I'nique in the I'nited How the HFBR Works about 40 Brookhaven staff scientists States, the (\f began operat do experiments at the HFBR. ing in 1980 and produces neu The neutrons are produced by In solid state physics, for example, trons of 1.5 milli electron nuclear fission, a process in which a insights into the theory of critical volts and four to ten heavy nucleus divides, usually into phenomena in magnetic systems. angstroms. two parts, and emits neutrons and gained at the HFBR, led to a Nobel The ( M- consists of about gamma rays. The heavy nuclei in the Prize in Physics in 1982 for Kenneth 1.4 liters of liquid hydrogen in HFBR come from a fissionable iso- Wilson of Cornell University. Nuclear an aluminum chamber neai tope of uranium contained in the physicists have come to the HFBR to the reactor core. A closed loop reactor fuel elements. perform experiments on the symme- of helium gas at 17 kelvins The fuel elements, heavily shielded tries and on the origin of deforma- ( 429°Fi envelops and cools in the reactor core, are submerged in tion in nuclei. Chemists have the chamber. Neutrons from heavy water, which cools and slows studied electron charge-density dis- the surrounding heavy water down the fast neutrons born in the tribution in solids, hydrogen bond- in the reactor slow down as fission process. Unlike naturally ing, metal hydrides and framework they scatter off the cold hy- occurring water molecules, heavy materials. In biology, neutron drogen and are thus reduced water molecules have neutrons in diffraction has been used to investi- to the lower energy required their hydrogen nuclei. When a neu- gate protein function and structure. tron strikes the nucleus of an atom Other experiments have examined The cold neutrons are guided of uranium, the uranium atom fis- membrane diffraction and macro- by other apparatus through sions: that is. it splits, releasing two molecular assemblies. the reactor shield to the or three fast-moving neutrons. These At present, much of the research experiments. Fast neutrons collide with the heavy Cold neutron beams afe ivater molecules and slow down to at the HFBR is focused on the new. high temperature superconducting used by physicists to probe become thermal neutrons. Most are such subjects as the long channeled down beam lines to be materials. Neutrons are exceptionally useful for studying the lattice-form range interactions between used for research, but some stay in the atoms in a lattice, and by the reactor core. In turn, they strike vibrations of atoms and magnetic phenomena that are thought to be biologists to study the struc- Dther uranium nuclei and the chain ture of membranes and other reaction continues. key points in learning how super- conductivity works, and. hence, how large biological molecules. A unique feature of the HFBR is to adapt it for practical application. :hat the maximum neutron flux is designed to occur where it can be jsed for experiments — outside the :ore. Besides reflecting some of the neu- trons back to the core and moderat- ing their speed, the heavy water also :ools the reactor, removing the heat produced in the core during opera- tion. Complete control is given by sixteen neutron-absorbing rods surrounding the core. These are 72 Safely and Environmental Protection Division The Safety and Environmental Protection Division provides technical support in the areas of health and safety. This includes monitoring of possible chemical and physical hazards in the workplace; surveillance of the environment; managing the Radiological Assistance Program, which can respond with assistance to any type of radiation incident in the Northeast; and developing and maintaining instruments for radiation monitoring and industrial hygiene surveys. Safety review of new and modified facilities and construction safety are other concerns of the division.

the safe limit, or as close to zero, as is reasonably achievable. Getting the Dose Down The creation of the BNL ALARA Center was the result of the NRC's Reducing radiation doses to nuclear power plant workers recognition that in the United States, nuclear power plant workers' to as low as is reasonably achievable is basic to the whole exposure to radiation had been ris- philosophy of radiation protection. Researchers at Brook- ing during the 1970's. The world- haven find practical ways to apply this philosophy to the wide accepted safe dose limit for a worker is five rems (rem is a mea- running of nuclear power plants. sure of radiation dosage) a year. Although the U.S. average was less s Low As Reasonably than one rem per worker per year, Achievable — ALARA, for the total dose received by all workers short — is the name of a per reactor was increasing, and that A number was one of the highest in group at BNL, formed in 1983 at the request of the Nuclear Regulatory the world. Commission (NRC). The name was The NRC therefore asked us to chosen to highlight the aim of the undertake three tasks, with a view to project, which is to study ways of making dose reduction recom- reducing the doses of radiation mendations for each: Examine differ- received by workers in nuclear power ences between nuclear plants here plants. But the object is more than and abroad, identify jobs involving reducing doses — it is to reduce high radiation doses in nuclear them as low as is reasonably achiev- plants, and evaluate engineering able, keeping in mind the general modifications made at different balance of other social and economic plants to reduce doses. necessities. In 1984. once the ALARA Center This concept. ALARA. is basic to was under way, we organized an the whole philosophy and system of international workshop on dose radiation protection. Although dose reduction assessment for 50 repre- limits ensure that workers are as sentatives from ten nations with safe as in other "safe" industries, it advanced nuclear power. Infor- is recognized that no industry has mation was exchanged, and contacts zero risk. So exposures — and there- and arrangements for future cooper- fore, risks — are kept as far below ation were made. 73

We learned, for instance, that Prance uses two standardized designs for most of its nuclear plants. Thus, workers can be trained more efficiently. Also, expensive, remote-control equipment can be shared for very high-dose jobs, such as refueling. In Sweden, emphasis is placed on shielding. Each plant has almost ten times the number of rooms to be found in a similar U.S. plant. The walls of these rooms provide their own shielding, so that a worker adjusting a pump or valve is exposed only to the radiation emitted by that single piece of equipment in one room. We have visited nineteen nuclear slants in the U.S. to identify the main :auses of high doses of radiation. Discussing the plans fora 1989 Brookhaven-sponsored international workshop Vhal were the high dose jobs? What on reducing radiation doses to workers are the members of the ALARA team vere the most useful dose reduction (from left): John Baum, Marie Cooney and Tasneem Khan. eehniques? What were the waste iisposal procedures? Could they be mproved? Were there incentives to percent of a dose exposure total, and lished annually and shared with all nake low doses a high priority? several may be present. One of the contributers and interested parties The same kind of in-depth survey most important factors is reactor —a mailing list of about 400. vas made on the cost-effectiveness water purity. If impurities are We are also planning to expand )f engineering modifications that allowed to build up in the water cool- our original study of jobs involving night lower dose levels. We gathered ing the core, they may become high radiation doses, and to develop lata from U.S. utilities, equipment radioactive, and maintenance staff is a handbook on ways for plant man- ind service suppliers, from technical exposed to unnecessary doses. agement to plan dose control for neetings and from the published Among the results of our work is a each job before starting it. This, iterature. Five computer models to special data bank containing dose- together with emphasis on the list of ivaluate cost-effectiveness were reduction projects throughout the 15 factors affecting dose levels, will created and used to develop a com- world, including research in the field provide the NRC and plant managers )endium of possible plant modifica- and the latest health physics tech- the means to reduce dose exposure tions and their various advantages. nology. A report summary is pub- for U.S. nuclear workers. This document and others prepared by the ALARA Center are being made available to the nuclear industry. 1056 Once all information was analyzed, 1003 592 we could draw several conclusions. It != 600- 552 became apparent that the rising U.S. levels of radiation dose during the 397 late 1970's were partly a result of extra inspections and safety mea- sures taken all over the country after the nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island. Improvements were completed by the early 1980's. and dose levels have dropped by 40 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 19B6 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 percent since 1980. BWR plants PWR plants We also identified 15 factors affect- These graphs show the average collective radiation dose in person-rem per ing the amount of radiation a unit for both boiling water reactors and pressurized water reactors, since 1980. nuclear worker might encounter. Data are from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, except those of 1986. which Each factor can contribute 20-40 are from the Institute of Nuclear Power Operations. 74 Instrumentation Division The primary activity of the Instrumentation Division is to provide new tools and methods for high precision measure- ments in scientific research. The division also provides spe- cial services in the areas of vacuum deposition technology, electron microscopy, printed circuit board fabrication, scien- tific instrument repair, and maintenance of computerized on-line data acquisition and experiment control systems.

Tiny Photocell With Mighty Potential Researchers in the Instrumentation Division have achieved high current density photoemission with a unique photo- cell. Applications range from new particle accelerators to lasertrons. hotoemission — the emission a very short time. Thus far. we have of electrons by substances found that the best way to achieve Pwhen light fal's on their sur- this very high current density is to faces — was explained by Albert Ein- use a laser that can deliver very stein at the turn of the century. short and intense light pulses, According to Einstein's theory, light coupled with an electrode (photo- is composed of discrete packets of cathode) that responds instantly to energy, called photons. When light light, has a high electron per photon strikes a material, the photons inter- yield and tolerates brief exposures to act with the electrons in the mate- air. rial. If the energy of the photons is The laser we have chosen can greater than the work function of deliver 10la photons, each with a the material (the energy that is bind- photon energy of 4.6 electron volts, ing the electrons to the surface), the in 10 picoseconds. (In the same electrons will come out. This phe- amount of time, light, whose speed is nomenon has been used effectively 300.000 kilometers per second, trav- to measure light fluxes using photo- els only three millimeters.) Metals diodes and to study atomic and are used as suitable photocathodes molecular systems spectroscopically. because they have a large number of At Brookhaven. recent work on electrons that can respond instan- photoemission may lead to novel taneously to the light pulse. applications: a new family of intense Over the past year, BNL studies on pulsed electron sources and fast different cathode materials and elec- high-power switches that could trode configurations have been made greatly reduce the size and at the with a photocell that can be held in same time increase the energy of a the palm of a hand. new breed of particle accelerators. Initial eperiments were done with Other applications include develop- a gold-coated, tungsten wire photo- ment of x-ray lasers and of lasertrons cathode and a coaxial anode in a as sources of microwaves at milli- high vacuum cell. A high negative meter and submillimeter voltage relative to the anode is ap- wavelengths. plied to the photocathode, establish- In all these potential applications, ing a high field between the elec- the task is to produce a large trodes. The laser shoots a burst of number of electrons per unit area in photons at the photocathode. freeing 75

will also try other low work function materials such as cerium and thorium. The photon yield will be further enhanced by increasing the cathode's surface field close to that of its field emission threshold (the field at which the cathode will emit electrons without photon input). Once a current density exceeding 50 kA/cm2 and lasting for a few picoseconds is obtained over an extended area, it can be used to switch high powers across gaps to generate strong electromagnetic fields for accelerating charged parti- cles. Preliminary estimates indicate that accelerating gradients as large as one billion electron volts per meter (GeV/m) may be obtained with such schemes. As a point of comparison, the Stanford Linear Accelerator is three kilometers long and accelerates elec- trons to 22 GeV. The accelerating gradient of this machine is equal to 7.3 million electron volts per meter. Since a greater accelerating gradient can mean smaller and more powerful accelerators, the switched power linac. at 1 GeV/m, could decrease the size or increase the energy of such a machine by a factor exceeding 100, with a considerable reduction in cost. Joachim Fischer (left) and Triveni Srinivasan-Rao check the alignment of the Overall. Brookhaven's photocell photocell they are developing for novel applications of photoemission. has several unique features. The metal photocathode yields high cur- rent density and fast response time, from the cathode surface electrons the cathode surfaces by excessive and is comparatively easy to prepare that are then pulled to the anode laser light, future experiments will and maintain. Since the laser is con- under the high field. be conducted using metals with trollable, we also have great flexibility This device achieves an electric lower work functions than gold. in making short electron bunches of current density of 10 kiloamperes Because the electrons are held less variable-sized intensity and time per square centimeter (kA/cm2). the tightly to these surfaces, they can be duration. highest ever obtained from a photo- pulled out easier, thereby improving cathode with such a large area. Elec- the yield of electrons per photon. tron bunches with current densities Gold had been chosen for the initial of this order will be used as electron work because it does not tarnish: sources for future accelerators. In tarnishing inhibits the emission of fact, the photocell will soon be put to electrons. use in the accelerator test facility Already, some exploratory work now being constructed as part of has been done with yttrium. Brookhaven's recently established Although it tends to tarnish, yttrium Center for Accelerator Physics. has a much lower work function Switched power accelerators and than gold. Cleaning the yttrium sur- lasertrons. however, require a cur- face in the device may be required to rent density exceeding 50 kA/cmJ. remove the tarnish and preserve the To achieve this without damaging surface quality over a long period. We 76 General and Administrative

Personnel Health Program Initiated Laboratory employment held steady A Health Promotion Program, run by throughout the last two fiscal years, the Occupational Medicine Clinic to while outside users flocked to BNL in help reduce preventable illnesses, ever-increasing numbers (see held its first lunchtime seminar in charts). December 1985. Since then, inform- ative meetings at regular intervals Telephones Transferred have been held on topics ranging In October 1986. the Laboratory's from "Osteoporosis" to "Coping With telephone communications were Terminal Illness in the Family" and transferred from the Staff Services "Sleep Disorders." In addition, the Division to the new Networking. program has offered employees on- Engineering and Telecommunica- site Weight Watchers classes and tions Division in the Applied stop-smoking workshops, both sub- Mathematics Department. The sidized by the Laboratory. transfer was motivated by the signif- icant changes in technology that Patents Awarded now bind computers and telecom- In 1986 and 1987. a total of 33 pat- munications so closely together. ents were awarded to employees or former employees, for devices Firehouse Dedicated invented or processes developed at A new firehouse for the Laboratory Brookhaven. was dedicated in January 1986. featuring a spacious bay area, a Students on Site modern control room and comfort- In July 1986,52 winners of the able accommodations for firefighters national High School Honors during their 24-hour shifts. Research Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy spent two Affirmative Action weeks at Brookhaven. working at the The number of minority firms doing National Synchrotron Light Source. business at Brookhaven continued In July 1987, participation increased to increase through 1986 and 1987. to 57, as students from Canada, as did the dollars that the Labora- Japan, Italy and Mexico joined those tory invested in such companies. representing the 50 states, the Dis- trict of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The Affirmative Action Office con- tinued to administer several educa- Another program that was added to tional programs geared to minori- the more than one dozen that BNL ties. These included our research hosts for high school, college and apprenticeships for high school graduate students was the Science minority students, the Brookhaven and Engineering Research Semester Semester Program for students from Program. During the first semester, historically black colleges and the which began in August 1987, seven GEM program, for minority graduate college students completed research students pursuing degrees in projects, trained on the Laboratory's engineering. major research instruments and enriched their general scientific Move for AAO and OSP backgrounds. In August 1986. staff members in the Affirmative Action Office (AAO) Energy Conserved and the Office of Scientific Personnel In the first nine months of 1987. the (OSP) moved into new quarters in a Laboratory's new Demand Coordina- new wing of Building 185. which tion Committee saved Brookhaven houses the Personnel Division. about SI.5 million, by juggling the 77

ite's power demands. Most ol'the Employment Statistics 1987 1986 avings were incurred by cutting ower consumption at the Alternat- Scientific Staff 678 666 lg Gradient Synchrotron when total Scientific Professional Staff 487 470 aboratory use approached 26.91 2096 2064 legawatts of electric power in a Nonscientific Staff* lonth: above that usage, BNL's elec- Total 3261 3200 ic bill for the month almost doubles. Percent of total employees Minorities 16.4 15.4 Central Kitchen Opens Females 22.9 22.4 he grand opening of the Suffolk "Also includes research associates and visiting staff. !ounty Office for the Aging"s Central Jtchen at BNL took place in Outside User Statistics 1987 1986 November 1985. Operated by the Unsalaried guests and collaborators 1996 1926 uffolk County Chapter of the Amer- :an Red Cross, the Central Kitch- Total institutions represented 447 371 n's purpose is to provide nutritious, Institutions outside U.S. 139 156 ot foods for senior citizens in the Summer Program: junty. The kitchen that Brook- Visiting scientists 122 156 aven provides had formerly been Students 181 91 sed for the preparation of meals for Institutions represented 149 122 katients at the Laboratory's research lospital. which closed in 1984.

rmtivt* Actions Eric Porsyth was named Chairman Bernard McAlary became the Labora of the newly formed Accelerator tory's Business Manager in July Development Department, in May 1987. 1986. Robert Adair became Associate Donald Metz was named to head the Director for High Energy and Nuclear Michael Goldman became Deputy Office of Educational Programs, Physics in January 1987. General Counsel for AUI in May 1986. November 1985. and Laboratory Counsel for BNL. in Robert Palmer and Claudio Pelle- Jerry Bellows was named to head the June 1986. U.S. Department of Energy's Brook- grini were appointed to head Brook- haven Area Office in March 1987. Henry Grahn was appointed Asso- haven's new Center for Accelerator ciate Director for Administration in Physics, in December 1986. Peter Bond accepted the Chairman- January 1987. ship of the Physics Department in Donald Robbins was appointed Budget Officer in November 1985. Jury 1987. replacing Arthur Jannifer Hill became Manager of the Schwarzschild. who had been reap- Employee Assistance Program In E. Parke Rohrer became Associate pointed Chairman in October 1986 March 1986. Director for Management and Physi- and later chose to return to research. cal Plant in September 1986. Jerome Hudis moved to Associated Michael Brooks was appointed to Universities, Inc. as Vice President — Larry Runge was named Head of the head the Reactor Division in January Programmatic Affairs and Secretary Safeguards *• Security Divsion. in 1986. in October 1985, though he con- August 1987. replacing Edmund Arjun Chanana was appointed tinues to be involved with planning Wojcidd Jr.. who had headed the and scientific personnel at BNL. division since its organization in Chairman of the Medical Department October 1985. in April 1986. Mark Israel was named Fiscal Officer Thomas Davin Jr. became Vice Pres- and Head of the Fiscal Division, Richard Setlow became Associate ident — Corporate Affairs for Asso- August 1987. Director for Life Sciences in January ciated Universities, Inc. (AUI) in April 1986, after acting in that capacity 1986, also assuming the duties of John King was appointed Manager of since August 1984. Comptroller and General Counsel. the Division of Contracts and Pro- E. Gail Williams became Manager of curement in October 1986. Russell Dietz was named Head of the the Office of Scientific Personnel, new Tracer Technology Center estab- Gerald Kinne became Assistant November 1985. lished within the Department of Ap- Director for Reactor, Safety and Avril Woodhead became Women's plied Science in September 1985. Security in January 1986. Program Coordinator. August 1987. 78 Financial Report

The principal source of Brookha- DOE also provides captital equip- ven's funding is the U.S. Department ment funding for instrumentation, of Energy (DOE). DOE accounted for scientific apparatus, computers and 78 percent of BNL's operating funds office equipment. In FY86, BNL's cap- in both fiscal year (FY) 1986. when ital equipment budget totaled $17.2 those funds totaled S201.6 million, million, while in FY87 it rose to and FY87, when they amounted to SI8.4 million. S207.3 million. Operating funds pay A third aspect of Laboratory fund- the costs of salaries and wages, ing is for construction. In FY86, fringe benefits, materials and sup- BNL's construction funds amounted plies, and energy associated with the to S29.2 million, and in FY87. they Laboratory's research programs. dropped slightly to S25.2 million. The second largest contributor to Primarily, the decrease reflects the BNL's operating funds is the Nuclear winding down of construction funds Regulatory Commission, which pro- for the Phase II expansion project at vided eight percent of these monies the National Synchrotron Light in both fiscal years 1986 and 1987. Source. Construction projects that The remaining 14 percent each for were initiated in FY86 and also con- FY86 and FY87 were contributed by tained in the FY87 budget included other agencies. Primarily federal, the Acrumulator-Booster at the these included the Department of Alternating Gradient Synchrotron Defense, the Department of State, and fire protection improvements. the Environmental Protection Ongoing projects to build a fuel stor- Agency, the National Institutes of age facility and a central chilled Health and the National Science water facility received construction Foundation. funds during both fiscal years.

Heating Fuel 1.1% Electric Power 5.1% Salary & wages 54.4% Material & Supplies 25.0% Fringe Benefits 14.4%

BNL Cost Elements 79 [eetings

. a multi-program laboratory. oncile and correlate two opposing |rookhaven hosted during the past approaches to finding the cause for 40th Anniversary years dozens of conferences and aging: the reductionism of molecular lposia appealing to a wide variety biologists versus the holism of Brp^khaven marked its 40th Scientific interests. Here is a naturalists. anniversary in 19H7. The impling: . official celebration took place Forty BNL scientists introduced September 9 11 when ree workshops on Compact Syn- about the same number of repre- employees, retirees and lrotron Radiation Sources for X- sentatives from electric utilities in inWed guests gathered to par ay Lithography were held on site. the eastern U.S. to the capabilities of ticipate in the festivities. An t the first one. in March 1986, a some of the Laboratory's depart- Anniversary Hymposium lea rget date of 1991 was set for the ments and divisions, at a Regional tured six distinguished scneih elivery of the first superconducting Utilities Seminar, November 1986. In tists who surveyed develop >mpact light source dedicated to this example of technology transfer, merits m then fields. Also on me production of integrated circuits. organized by BNL's Office of .the progiam were the dedn a n th<° second meeting, in September Research & Technology Applications, tion f>f the Alternating did Brookhaven staff became acquainted 386. preliminary designs were client SVIH hiotion Acs Coin jproved for two compact storage with the utilities' technical problems plex to the I.aboiatorv s ngs dedicated to producing pho- and research interests. second director the late >ns for x-ray lithography. The goal The 15-member Board of Overseers Iceland J. Hrand parade y the International Committee on 1987. the 75 participants were pre- heralded the start ol activities, uture Accelerators, took place in sented with results of neutrino 'which included "f\in Olympic ", lay 1986. Of the 120 participants. experiments, many done at BNL's games, dancuui. a magic show 0 percent hailed from industry, Alternating Gradient Synchrotron, I s Exhibit ' . sflecting the explosion of interest in some of which offer contradictory C enter. uperconductivity over the past few evidence as to whether or not neu- ears. trinos oscillate. 'he international conference "Short- At a conference on "Electronic Struc ers and researchers, the workshop :rm Health Effects of Reactor Acci- ture and Atomic Dynamics: Simu- focused on the most recent advances ents: Chernobyl," held in August lated Annealing and Related in research and development of 986. brought together 45 attendees, Methods," March 1987. about 80 advanced oil heating systems. nostly physicians with experience in solid state and quantum physicists he field of radiation effects, to dis- An international workshop on discussed the use of new mathemat- "Assessing and Managing Health uss the extent to which the Cher- ical techniques and computer soft- lobyl accident might help fill serious and Environmental Risks From ware for calculating the energy of Energy and Other Complex Indus- ;aps in the existing body of knowl- materials after annealing, a process dge about early effects of large trial Systems" attracted 30 partici- for treating a metal, alloy or glass pants, in June 1987. ioses of external radiation delivered with heat, then cooling it to reduce D the whole body and approaches to its internal energy and. as a result, Science writers gathered at BNL in reatment. make it less brittle. September 1987 fora Department of Energy-sponsored conference on Jy focusing on "Aging Processes in The 1987 Oil Heat Technology Con- "Biotechnology and the Human inimals." at the 34th Brookhaven ference and Workshop WP^ held in Genome." •ymposium in Biology. October June 1987. Attended by i^O fuel oil 986. 55 biologists attempted to rec- marketers, equipment manufactur- 80 Honors

Achievement Award from the Health Physics Society in July 1986, for his contributions in radiobiology and radiobiophysics and to the applica- tions of these sciences in protecting man and his environment from the harmful effects of radiation. Jeffrey Coderre (Medical) was named Southampton College's Dis- tinguished Alumnus of the year, in May 1987. Ernest Courant (Accelerator De- velopment) was awarded the 1986 Enrico Fermi Award by the Depart- ment of Energy for his many contri- butions to the physics of accelera- tion of charged particles, including his role in the invention of alternat- ing gradient focusing, or strong fo- cusing, which he discovered at BNL with the late Stanley Livingston, wh was a posthumous winner of a 1986 Fermi Award, and the late Hartland Ernest Courant (left) accepts the 1986 Enrico Fermi Awardfrom U.S. Depart- Snyder. In April 1987, Courant ment of Energy Secretary John S. Herrington. became the first recipient of the Robert R. Wilson Prize of the Ameri- can Physical Society, established to Brookhaven was honored with two was selected as one of the ten Out- recognize and encourage outstand- U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) standing Engineering Achievements ing achievements in the physics of awards in 1986 and two again in of 1985 by the National Society of particle accelerators. 1987. for meeting purchasing goals Professional Engineers, in January for Disadvantaged Business and for 1986. Eugene Cronkite (Medical) received Small Business. the degree of Honorary Doctor of Robert Birgeneau (guest, Physics) Medicine at the University of Ulm in The Brookhaven Graphite Research was elected to receive the 1987 West Germany in July 1987, for his Reactor, the world's first nuclear Oliver E. Buckley Condensed Matter outstanding scientific achievement reactor built specifically for peace- Physics Prize of the American Physi- and in recognition of his function as time research, was designated a cal Society, in March 1987, for his an advisor in the planning and Nuclear Historic Landmark by the determinations of the phases and development of that university. American Nuclear Society, in Sep- phase transitions of low-dimensional tember 1986. systems, through x-ray and neutron Russell Dietz (Applied Science) re- scattering experiments. Most of the ceived a 1986 Federal Laboratory The Brookhaven House was one of Consortium Special Award for Excel- four innovative, energy-conserving latter work was done at BNL's High Flux Beam Reactor. lence in Technology Transfer in May homes to receive the accolade of 1986, for his leadership and initia- Most Influential House, in the tenth Jakob Bohr, Kevin D'Amico, Doon tive in developing and commercializ- anniversary issue of Solar Age, a Gibbs and David Moncton (Physics) ing an air infiltration measurement monthly magazine devoted to solar were recognized in DOE's annual system, called AIMS. technology, in February 1986. Materials Sciences Research Compe- Ady Hershcovitch (Alternating Gra- Brookhaven's superconducting tition, in November 1985, for their dient Synchrotron) won an I-R 100 dipole magnet, designed in collab- synchrotron x-ray scattering studies award in September 1987, for devel- oration with Fermi National Acceler- of the magnetic structure of oping a probe to measure ion ator Laboratory and Lawrence Berke- holmium. temperature and density in plasma ley Laboratory for the proposed Victor Bond (Medical) received the devices such as a tokamak fusion Superconducting Super Collider. 1986 Distinguished Scientific reactor. 81

Edward Lessard (Safety S» Envi- for labeling human red blood cells director. (Editor's note: Dr. Vineyard, ronmental Protection) received in with the radioisotope the Laboratory's director from 1973- July 1987 the Elda E. Anderson technetium-99m. 81. died on February 21. 1987.) \ward of the Health Physics Society, Meyer Steinberg (Applied Science) David Warner (Physics) was awarded |iven annually since 1962 to an HPS won a first place award in the Fuller an Alexander von Humboldt research member under the age of 40. International. Inc. Quest Contest, in fellowship in December 1985, to Kelvin Lynn (Physics) was a winner November 1985, for his "most origi- spend one year in West Germany at n DOE's Materials Sciences nal idea" to use Portland cement to the University of Cologne to do Research Competition in November reduce sulfur emissions from fossil research in nuclear structure 985, for his work on developing fuel-burning power plants by directly physics. jositron uses for solid state physics. injecting cement into a plant's Michael Weinert (Physics) was )avid Moncton (guest, Physics) was boilers. awarded a Research Fellowship from twarded a 1987 Ernest Orlando Dmitri Stephani (Instrumentation) the Alexander von Humboldt Foun- .awrence Memorial Award from DOE won an I-R 100 Award in September dation in August 1986. to do n July 1987, for the development of 1986 for the development of an elec- research on surface defects, at KFA- ligh resolution synchrotron x-ray tronic device called a triple hybrid Julich in West Germany. mattering techniques and their ap- amplifier. ilications to diverse materials systems. Lucien Wielopolski (Medical) Betsy Sutherland (Biology) received received an I-R 100 award in Sep- >ol Pearlstein (Nuclear Energy) was a 1985 Ernest Orlando Lawrence tember 1987, for developing an x-ray onored by the Suffolk County Memorial Award from the Depart- device for measuring lead in pre- Board of Cooperative Education ment of Energy in October 1985, for school children. Services in July 1986. for his sup- her analyses of the consequences of Alfred Wolf (Chemistry) was port of the BOCES 2 Summer Insti- damage repair in bacteria and tute for Gifted and Talented Youth. honored by the Journal of Applied human cells exposed to ultraviolet Radiation and Isotopes with the Morton Rosen (Photography & light. Graphic Arts) received four ribbons 1986 JARI Award Medal, for his out- and the prestigious Court of Honor John Sutherland (Biology) was the standing contributions to applica- Award at the annual convention of recipient of an I-R 100 award in Sep- tions of radiochemistry to nuclear the Professional Photographic tember 1987. for developing an elec- medicine and radiopharmacy. in Society of New York, in March 1987. tronic imaging system for studying July 1986. In November 1986. Wolf His photographs of scientific sub- DNA. received the Georg von Hevesy jects also earned four National Merit Memorial Medal at the IVth World Awards at the 96th International Norman Sutin (Chemistry) won the Congress of Nuclear Medicine, to Exhibition of Professional Pho- Polychrome Corporation Award in acknowledge his pioneering work in tography, in August 1987, and Photochemistry in December 1985. the field of radiochemistry and received honors in every category of for his outstanding contributions to radiopharmacy for the nuclear medi- the joint Eastman Kodak, Nikon and the field of inorganic cine community. Professional Photographers of Amer- photochemistry. ica 1987 competition, "Impact Robert Terwilliger (Plant Engineer- Through Applied Photography." ing) was named one of four out- standing in-house energy managers Marvin Shear (Quality Assurance) by DOE and was also chosen to was given the McGrady-Seifer Award receive a Federal Energy Efficiency of the Long Island Section of the Award from the Federal Interagency American Society for Quality Con- Energy Policy Committee, in October trol, in April 1986. for his outstand- 1985. In addition, from all DOE ing contributions to the Section. laboratories, Brookhaven was Anastasios Soukas (Alternating selected as winner of the DOE in- Gradient Synchrotron) received a house energy management program 1985 In-House Energy Management Energy Conservation Award. Conservation Award from DOE in George Vineyard (Physics) was June 1986. for his plan to improve awarded an honorary Doctor of the efficiency of power converters Science degree by the University of used in high energy physics Missouri-Columbia in May 1986. for Experiments. his thoroughness and lively curiosity Suresh Srivastava (Medical) received as a teacher and a scientist and for an I-R 100 Award in September 1986 his accomplishments at Brookhaven, for his development of a medical kit where he was both researcher and 82 Organization

Directorate Division Heads Nicholas P. Samios Michael H. Brooks Director Reactor Martin Blume Charles B. Meinhold Deputy Director Safety & Environmental Protection Robert K. Adair Veljko Radeka Associate Director Instrumentation for High Energy and Nuclear Physics Seymour Baron Associate Director Managers and for Applied Programs Henry C. Grahn Office Heads Associate Director for Administration Robert Bacharach E. Parke Rohrer Management Information Systems Associate Director Anne S. Baittinger for Management Public Affairs and Physical Plant Earl M. Blanton Richard B. Setlow Affirmative Action Associate Director Robert D'Angio for Life Sciences Personnel ®» Labor Relations Gerald C. Kinne Michael Goldman Assistant Director Legal Counsel for Reactor, Safety Michael A. Guacci S> Security Supply ®> Materiel Mark O. Israel Fiscal John B. King Department Chairmen Contracts & Procurement Peter D. Bond John B. Laurie Physics Photography S» Graphic Arts Arjun D. Chanana Alfred Mahlmann Medical Plant Engineering Eric B. Forsyth William Marcuse Accelerator Development Research ff» Technology Applications Michael Knotek Bernard J. McAlary National Synchrotron Light Source Business Manager Herbert J. Kouts Robert B. Palmer and Nuclear Energy Claudio Pellegrini Derek I. Lowenstein Center for Accelerator Physics Alternating Gradient Synchrotron Donald J. Robbins Bernard Manowitz Budget Applied Science Larry J. Runge Ronald F. Peierls Safeguards S» Security Applied Mathematics Kenneth W. Ryan Richard B. Setlow* Technical Information Biology Laura D. Sbarra Alfred P. Wolf Occupational Medicine Clinic Chemistry Marvin Shear Quality Assurance 'Acting Richard J. Spellman Central Shops Organization effective as of William S. Webster September 30, 1987 Staff Services Credits

Editor. Mona S. Rowe

Writers: Anita Cohen. Liz Seubert

Technical Editor: J.B. Horner Kuper

Graphic Designer: Alan Schmidtchen

Photographer: Morton Rosen

Assistance was provided by members of the Photography and Graphic Arts Division.

Produced by the Public Affairs Office Anne S. Baittinger, Manager

• U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1988—513-236