The LLNL Nuclear Chemistry Counting Facility (NCCF) is being converted to a modern production facility. A computer network has been designed and built to implement this conversion. The outermost node of the computer network is a dedicated EPROM-based controller. The controller handles the details of driving the attached nuclear instrumentation, providing a standard interface to the remainder of the network. This paper addresses the design and the implementation of the dedicated instrumentation controller.

This paper addresses the stability aspects of several successful dc superconducting magnets such as large bubble chamber magnets, and magnets for the Mirror Fusion Test Facility and MHD Research Facility. Specifically, it will cover Argonne National Laboratory 12-Foot Bubble Chamber magnets, the 15-foot Bubble Chamber magnets at Fermi National Laboratory, the MFTF-B Magnet System at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the U-25B Bypass MHD Magnet, and the CFFF Superconducting MHD magnet built by Argonne National Laboratory. All of these magnets are cooled in pool-boiling mode. Magnet design is briefly reviewed. Discussed in detail are the adopted stability critera, analyses of stability and disturbance, stability simulation, and the final results of magnet performance and the observed coil disturbances.

A summary is given of the important characteristics of currently used insulator materials. Figures of merit for materials needed in future systems are identified. A methodology for identifying and evaluating new materials meeting the stringent performance requirements of future fusion laser systems is outlined.

Films of Ta metal on uranium and of Ir metal on tantalum have been irradiated and melted by pulses from Q-switched Ruby and frequency-doubled Nd:YAG lasers to investigate the nature of the resulting mixtures in light of the very different binary-phase diagrams of the two systems. In addition, a two-phase Ir-Ta alloy has been surface-processed with CW CO/sub 2/-laser radiation and with an electron beam in order to study microstructure refinement and test the advantage of using alloys as opposed to film-on-substrate combinations for the development of claddings.

A microcalorimeter with event mode capability for time-resolved soft-x-ray spectroscopy, and a high-resolution flat-field EUV spectrometer have been employed at the Livermore EBIT-I electron beam ion trap for observations and wavelength measurements of M1, E2, and M3 decays of long-lived levels in the Ni-like ions Xe{sup 26+}, Cs{sup 27+}, and Ba{sup 28+}. Of particular interest is the lowest excited level, 3d{sup 9}4s {sup 3}D{sub 3}, which can only decay via a magnetic octupole (M3) transition. For this level in Xe an excitation energy of (590.40 {+-} 0.03eV) and a level lifetime of (11.5 {+-} 0.5 ms) have been determined.

We have developed an experimental technique that combines magnetorheological finishing (MRF) and microscopy to examine fractures and/or artifacts in optical materials. The technique can be readily used to provide access to, and interrogation of, a selected segment of a fracture or object that extends beneath the surface. Depth slicing, or cross-sectioning at selected intervals, further allows the observation and measurement of the three-dimensional nature of the sites and the generation of volumetric representations that can be used to quantify shape and depth, and to understand how they were created, how they interact with surrounding material, and how they may be eliminated or mitigated.

Magnetic drift pumping on TMX-U involves driving four antennae through high Q-resonant circuits. One of the key elements in the resonant circuit is a variable inductor able to carry the 3500 amperes through the circuit and maintain its shape and inductance. The eight resonant circuits can be combined to feed the four antennae with one or two frequencies on each antenna, or frequency shift keying between two frequencies. Each resonant circuit is fed by two 10 to 30 kHz exciters capable of delivering 80 kW each to the circuit. Each exciter receives its power from its own adjustable 0 to 400 volt power supply. The entire system is controlled by a CAMAC control system over a fiber-optic link. The control system checks interlock status, controls ''On'' and ''Off'' status, calculates and adjusts phasing of the exciters for addition or deletion of the proper beat frequencies, and monitors operation. 3 refs., 5 figs.

We have installed a new diagnostic instrument to investigate ions emanating along magnetic-field lines of the TMX-U tandem-mirror experiment. This analyzer contains parallel electric and magnetic fields, which yield ion mass and energy spatial separation. A dual array of 128 copper collector plates detects particles in the ion flux that is first collimated and then focused through the 180-degree bending magnetic field. An electric field applied transverse to the bending particle path then separates the ion masses in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic-pole faces while the magnetic field spreads out the different energies of each mass in a plane parallel to the magnetic-pole tips. The CAMAC-based data recorders are fiber-optically coupled to the system controller for data acquisition, analysis, and display. A commercial CAMAC data recorder was modified for current input. We expect to measure higher particle energies than the present gridded end-loss analyzers as well as to more accurately determine the energy spectra.

This article provides evidence for the valid use of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT) in sub-Saharan Africa.

Low-energy ions trapped in the thermal barrier region of the TMX-U plasma cause a potential reduction which results in increased scattering and less thermal isolation between regions of the plasma. A method of removing these ions using magnetic field perturbations at the ion drift frequency has been developed. The concepts of ''drift pumping'' and hardware development are described in this paper. 5 refs., 7 figs.

Ion Cyclotron Resonant Heating (ICRH) is part of the plasma heating system used on the TMX-U experiment. Radio frequency (RF) energy is injected into the TMX-U plasma at a frequency near the fundamental ion resonance (2 to 5 MHz). The RF fields impart high velocities to the ions in a direction perpendicular to the TMX-U magnetic field. Particle collision then converts this perpendicular heating to uniform plasma heating. This paper describes the various aspects of the ICRH system: antennas, power supplies, computer control, and data acquisition. 4 refs., 10 figs.

This paper describes the effects of austenitization and tempering treatments on the strength and impact properties of a 12Cr-1Mo-V-W steel. Data are reported for austenitization temperatures covering the range 900 to 1250/sup 0/C and tempering treatments of 600 to 800/sup 0/C. A 50/sup 0/C improvement in the ductile brittle transition temperature is achieved through heat treatment. This is found to result from elimination of delta ferrite and associated carbides at the delta ferrite-matrix interface. 17 figures.

The H/sub 2//sup +/ ions from the volume of a hydrogen discharge will strike the discharge chamber walls with a kinetic energy equivalent to the plasma potential. A three-step process is described in which the H/sub 2//sup +/ ions are neutralized in a two-stage Auger process followed by a third stage wall relaxation collision, with the net result that the incident ions are converted to ground state molecules having a broad vibrational excitation spectrum. For kinetic energies ranging from a few electron volts up to twenty electron volts a substantial fraction, approx. = 2/3, of these ions will reflect as molecules, and of this population a fraction as large as twenty percent will have vibrational excitation of v'' greater than or equal to 6. This large vibrational population will provide a contribution to the total excited level distribution that is comparable to the E-V process. Implications for negative ion generation in an optimized tandem configuration are discussed.

The Fuels and Materials Examination Facility (FMEF) is systematically analyzed from a remote maintenance standpoint using functional analysis methods. From the analysis the remote maintainability of equipment is ascertained, required tooling lists are formed, and maintenance downtimes are established. These techniques identify deficiencies or inefficiencies in the early design stage where changes have a minimum impact on cost. Special tooling and fixture requirements are minimized by standardizing remote maintenance design features.

A design study of 12-T yin-yang coils for a conceptual Tandem Mirror Next Step (TMNS) facility has been recently performed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in conjunction with the Convair Division of General Dynamics. The large magnets have major and minor radii of 3.7 and 1.5 m, 0.70 x 3.75 m/sup 2/ cross section, 46.3 MA turns, and an overall current density of 1765 A/cm/sup 2/, obtained by the use of Nb/sub 3/Sn and Nb-Ti superconductors. Each coil is composed of several subcoils separated by internal strengthening substructure to react the enormous electromagnetic forces. The size of the yin-yang coils, and hence the current density, was reduced by utilizing subcooled, superfluid He-II at 1.8 K for the coolant. This paper reviews the design study, with emphasis on He-II heat transport and conductor stability. Methods are also presented which allow the extension of Gorter-Mellink-channel calculations to encompass multiple, interconnecting coolant channels.

May 1983 marked the beginning of an intensive effort to both improve the operating reliability, and improve the performance of the TMX-U Diagnostic Computer System. At that time, the system was handling (acquiring, storing, processing, plotting, displaying, and archiving) about 3 million bytes (Mb) of data per shot, with a 15-minute cycle time between shots. In addition, the system was fairly fragile, with frequent (about 5 times/day) crashes, requiring re-booting. At the present time, the system reliably handles about 5 Mb of data per shot, with a 7-minute cycle time between shots. This improvement was accomplished by a combination of new hardware, rearranging existing hardware, and new or revised software. Hardware changes were made in two areas. First, the shared disks were rearranged into different domains to make more efficient use of locking features. Second, we purchased and installed a solid-state RAM disk emulator (8 megabytes) to provide extremely fast access to lists and files that must be accessed frequently. In the software area, we made improvements in several areas. Initial effort went into finding bugs and optimizing existing code. We developed a template so that we could produce efficient code from applications that had first been developed on a …

An optimized tandem two-chamber negative-ion source system is discussed. In the first chamber high energy (E > 20 eV) electron collisions provide for H/sub 2/ vibrational excitation, while in the second chamber negative ions are formed by dissociative attachment. The gas density, electron density, and system scale length are varied as independent parameters. The extracted negative ion current density passes through a maximum as electron and gas densities are varied. This maximum scales inversely with system scale length, R. The optimum extracted current densities occur for electron densities near nR = 10/sup 13/ electrons cm/sup -2/ and for gas densities, N/sub 2/R, in the range 10/sup 14/ to 10/sup 15/ molecules cm/sup -2/. The extracted current densities are sensitive to the atomic concentration in the discharge. The atomic concentration is parametrized by the wall recombination coefficient, ..gamma.., and scale length, R. As ..gamma.. ranges from 0.1 to 1.0 and for system scale lengths of one centimeter, extracted current densities range from 8.0 to 80. mA cm/sup -2/.

This paper is a status report on the ADVANCED LIGHT SOURCE (ALS) control system. The current status, performance data, and future plans will be discussed. Manpower, scheduling, and costs issues are addressed.

The PPD is an instrument used to indirectly measure the potential of the center-cell plasma of TMX-U. Thallium ions are injected at energies of about 60 keV from an ion gun capable of 80 kV operation. The singly charged ions collide with plasma electrons and generate double-charged ions. Ions in the higher charge state exit the plasma and are detected in an electrostatic energy analyzer. From measurements of the injected ion energy and the output ion energy one can determine the plasma potential in the ionization region. The absolute potential measurements required careful calibrations of the energy analyzer. Hardware and techniques for calibration of the energy analyzer are discussed. 2 refs., 4 figs.

This paper describes control of gyrotron microwave energy output by modulation of gyrotron anode voltage. At present, Electron Cyclotron Resonant Heating (ECRH) uses five gyrotrons on the Tandem Mirror Experiment-Upgrade (TMX-U) for plasma heating. One is in the 10 kG region of each end plug, one at the 5 kG region of each end plug, and one is used for central-cell heating. Also described are the design and operation of the anode modulation system. The operating advantages of gyrotron anode modulation include power balance, independent control of each gyrotron, an ability to modulate microwave output power up to 50 kHz, and gyrotron tuning. The performance results of anode modulation will be discussed. 9 figs.

Recent improvements in the Nova amplifier system allow us to deliver higher energy and power to targets and to perform experiments with higher precision. Improved operating efficiency has increased the shot rate. 4 refs., 2 figs.

A set of 18 separately controlled plates have been added to each end of the Tandem Mirror Experiment Upgrade (TMX-U) vessel to allow measurement of end-wall currents and to provide a means of plasma potential control (PPC). These plates are shaped to form elliptical rings separated into quadrants. Each plate can be individually grounded, float at plasma potentials, or be actively biased to control the plasma. Voltage and current monitoring are provided for each of the plates, and the control and monitoring functions are controlled by the PPC system computer. The details of the field line mapping and the plate shapes are discussed, and the control architecture and performance are presented. 1 ref., 5 figs.

This paper is a status report on the ADVANCED LIGHT SOURCE (ALS) control system. The current status, performance data, and future plans will be discussed. Manpower, scheduling, and costs issues are addressed.

Two points in our recent article on Edward Teller's scientific life (Physics Today, August 2004, page 45) require correction. In our description of Teller's students, we incorrectly stated that Arthur Kantrowitz's thesis was on the generation of hypersonic molecular beams. Actually, his thesis was on heat capacity lags in gas dynamics. Kantrowitz's invention of high intensity sources for molecular beams came later in his career. Maurice Goldhaber has emphasized that the situation with respect to possible nuclear resonances in ({gamma},n) or ({gamma},fission) reactions was quite unclear at the time of George C. Baldwin and G. Stanley Klaiber's papers on these reactions. This was because the rapid rise of their yield to a prominent peak with increasing energy, followed by a slower fall off was then thought to have been due to the competition between the rapidly rising density of nuclear states and the eventual domination of other reaction channels at higher energies. Goldhaber realized, however, that there could be an analogy between a possible collective nuclear resonance and the restrahl resonance (essentially the transverse optical phonon mode) in polar crystals. Goldhaber sought out Teller because of his paper with Russell Lyddane and Robert Sachs, relating the restrahl frequency to the …