We report on measurements made on a Nova beamline whose output amplifier stages contain new high damage threshold, platinum particle-free laser glass. We project future operating limits for the Nova ten beam amplifier system. 4 refs.

Ten papers were presented at the meeting. A separate abstract was prepared for each paper. (LCL)

Pillar detector is an innovative solid state device structure that leverages advanced semiconductor fabrication technology to produce a device for thermal neutron detection. State-of-the-art thermal neutron detectors have shortcomings in achieving simultaneously high efficiency, low operating voltage while maintaining adequate fieldability performance. By using a 3-dimensional silicon PIN diode pillar array filled with isotopic boron 10, ({sup 10}B) a high efficiency device is theoretically possible. The fabricated pillar structures reported in this work are composed of 2 {micro}m diameter silicon pillars with a 4 {micro}m pitch and pillar heights of 6 and 12 {micro}m. The pillar detector with a 12 {micro}m height achieved a thermal neutron detection efficiency of 7.3% at 2V.

If massive black holes (BHs) are ubiquitous in galaxies and galaxies experience multiple mergers during their cosmic assembly, then BH binaries should be common albeit temporary features of most galactic bulges. Observationally, the paucity of active BH pairs points toward binary lifetimes far shorter than the Hubble time, indicating rapid inspiral of the BHs down to the domain where gravitational waves lead to their coalescence. Here, we review a series of studies on the dynamics of massive BHs in gas-rich galaxy mergers that underscore the vital role played by a cool, gaseous component in promoting the rapid formation of the BH binary. The BH binary is found to reside at the center of a massive self-gravitating nuclear disc resulting from the collision of the two gaseous discs present in the mother galaxies. Hardening by gravitational torques against gas in this grand disc is found to continue down to sub-parsec scales. The eccentricity decreases with time to zero and when the binary is circular, accretion sets in around the two BHs. When this occurs, each BH is endowed with it own small-size ({approx}< 0.01 pc) accretion disc comprising a few percent of the BH mass. Double AGN activity is expected to …

Wastewater treatment is an energy intensive process which, together with water treatment, comprises about three percent of U.S. annual energy use. Yet, since wastewater treatment facilities are often peripheral to major electricity-using industries, they are frequently an overlooked area for automated demand response opportunities. Demand response is a set of actions taken to reduce electric loads when contingencies, such as emergencies or congestion, occur that threaten supply-demand balance, and/or market conditions occur that raise electric supply costs. Demand response programs are designed to improve the reliability of the electric grid and to lower the use of electricity during peak times to reduce the total system costs. Open automated demand response is a set of continuous, open communication signals and systems provided over the Internet to allow facilities to automate their demand response activities without the need for manual actions. Automated demand response strategies can be implemented as an enhanced use of upgraded equipment and facility control strategies installed as energy efficiency measures. Conversely, installation of controls to support automated demand response may result in improved energy efficiency through real-time access to operational data. This paper argues that the implementation of energy efficiency opportunities in wastewater treatment facilities creates a base …

We present an integrated approach for melting determination by monitoring several criteria simultaneously. In particular we combine x-ray diffraction observations with the detection of discontinuities in the optical properties by spectroradiometric measurements. This approach significantly increases the confidence of melt identification, especially with low-Z samples. We demonstrate the method with observations of melt in oxygen at 47 and 55 gigapascals.

The National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX) is a collaborative mega-ampere-class spherical torus research facility with high power heating and current drive systems and the state-of-the-art comprehensive diagnostics. For the 2008 experimental campaign, the high harmonic fast wave (HHFW) heating efficiency in deuterium improved significantly with lithium evaporation and produced a record central Te of 5 keV. The HHFW heating of NBI-heated discharges was also demonstrated for the first time with lithium application. The EBW emission in H-mode was also improved dramatically with lithium which was shown to be attributable to reduced edge collisional absorption. Newly installed FIDA energetic particle diagnostic measured significant transport of energetic ions associated with TAE avalanche as well as n=1 kink activities. A full 75 channel poloidal CHERS system is now operational yielding tantalizing initial results. In the near term, major upgrade activities include a liquid-lithium divertor target to achieve lower collisionality regime, the HHFW antenna upgrades to double its power handling capability in H-mode, and a beam-emission spectroscopy diagnostic to extend the localized turbulence measurements toward the ion gyro-radius scale from the present concentration on the electron gyro-radius scale. For the longer term, a new center stack to significantly expand the plasma operating parameters is …

A search for diffuse neutrinos with energies in excess of 10{sup 5} GeV is conducted with AMANDA-II data recorded between 2000 and 2002. Above 10{sup 7} GeV, the Earth is essentially opaque to neutrinos. This fact, combined with the limited overburden of the AMANDA-II detector (roughly 1.5 km), concentrates these ultra high-energy neutrinos at the horizon. The primary background for this analysis is bundles of downgoing, high-energy muons from the interaction of cosmic rays in the atmosphere. No statistically significant excess above the expected background is seen in the data, and an upper limit is set on the diffuse all-flavor neutrino flux of E{sup 2} {Phi}{sub 90%CL} < 2.7 x 10{sup -7} GeV cm{sup -2}s{sup -1} sr{sup -1} valid over the energy range of 2 x 10{sup 5} GeV to 10{sup 9} GeV. A number of models which predict neutrino fluxes from active galactic nuclei are excluded at the 90% confidence level.

The motivation for creating a permanent lunar settlement is sketched, and reasons for doing so in the coming decade are put forward. A basic plan to accomplish this is outlined, along technical and programmatic axes. It is concluded that founding a lunar settlement on the five hundredth anniversary of the Columbus landing - a Columbus Project - could be executed as a volunteer-intensive American enterprise requiring roughly six thousand man-years of skilled endeavor and a total Governmental contribution of the order of a half-billion dollars. 8 figs.

A canonical resolution of the multiplicity problem was proven for U(3) and this resolution is extended to a determination of all U(n) tensor operators characterized by maximal null space. 9 references.

The purpose of computer-assisted emergency response in nuclear power plants, and the requirements for achieving such a response, are presented. An important requirement is the attainment of realistic high-speed plant simulations at the reactor site. Currently pursued development programs for plant simulations are reviewed. Five modeling principles are established and a criterion is presented for selecting numerical procedures and efficient computer hardware to achieve high-speed simulations. A newly developed technology for high-speed power plant simulation is described and results are presented. It is shown that simulation speeds ten times greater than real-time process-speeds are possible, and that plant instrumentation can be made part of the computational loop in a small, on-site minicomputer. Additional technical issues are presented which must still be resolved before the newly developed technology can be implemented in a nuclear power plant.

Grazing incidence metal mirrors (GIMMs) have been examined to replace dielectric mirrors for the final elements in a laser beam line for an inertial confinement fusion reactor. For a laser driver with a wavelength from 250 to 500 nm in a 10-ns pulse, irradiated mirrors made of Al, Al alloys, or Mg were found to have calculated laser damage limits of 0.3--2.3 J/cm{sup 2} of beam energy and neutron lifetime fluence limits of over 5 {times} 10{sup 20} 14 MeV n/cm{sup 2} (or 2.4 full power years when used in a 1000-MW reactor) when used at grazing incidence (an angle of incidence of 85 degrees) and operated at room temperature or at 77 K. A final focusing system including mirrors made of Al alloy 7457 at room temperature or at liquid nitrogen temperatures used with a driver which delivers 5 MJ of beam energy in 32 beams would require 32 mirrors of roughly 10 m{sup 2} each. This paper briefly reviews the methods used in calculating the damage limits for GIMMs and discusses critical issues relevant to the integrity and lifetime of such mirrors in a reactor environment. 10 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.

Primordial oocytes in juvenile mice show acute gamma-ray LD/sub 50/ as low as 6 rad. This provides opportunities for determining dose-response relations at low doses and chronic exposure in the intact animal - conditions of particular interest for hazard evaluation. Examined in this way, /sup 3/HOH in body water is found to kill murine oocytes exponentially with dose, the LD/sub 50/ level for chronic exposure being only 2..mu..Ci/ml (delivering 0.4 rad/day). At very low doses and dose rates, where comparisons between tritium and other radiations are of special significance for radiological protection, the RBE of tritium compared with /sup 60/Co gamma radiation reaches approximately 3. Effects on murine fertility from tritium-induced oocyte loss have been quantified by reproductive capacity measurements. Chronic low-level exposure has been examined also in three primate species - squirrel, rhesus, and bonnet monkeys. In squirrel monkeys the ovarian germ-cell supply is 99% destroyed by the time of birth from prenatal exposure to body-water levels of /sup 3/HOH (administered in maternal drinking water) of only 3 ..mu..Ci/ml, the LD/sub 50/ level being 0.5 ..mu..Ci/ml (giving 0.1 rad/day), one fourth that in mice. Though not completely ruled out, similar high sensitivity of female germ cells has not been …

Using first-principles electronic structure calculations based on the Linear-Muffin-Tin Orbital (LMTO) method, we have investigated the effects of interstitial born and hydrogen on the electronic structure of the Ll{sub 2} ordered intermetallic Ni{sub 3}Al. When it occupies an octahedral interstitial site entirely coordinated by six Ni atoms, we find that boron enhances the charge distribution found in the strongly-bound ``pure`` Ni{sub 3}Al crystal: Charge is depleted at Ni and Al region. Substitution Al atoms for two of the Ni atoms coordinating the boron, however, reduces the interstitial charge density between atomic planes. In contrast to boron, hydrogen appears to deplete the interstitial charge, even when fully coordinated by Ni atoms. We suggest that these results are broadly consistent with the notion of boron as a cohesion enhancer and hydrogen as an embrittler.

We present an algorithm for interactively extracting and rendering isosurfaces of large volume datasets in a view-dependent fashion. A recursive tetrahedral mesh refinement scheme, based on longest edge bisection, is used to hierarchically decompose the data into a multiresolution structure. This data structure allows fast extraction of arbitrary isosurfaces to within user specified view-dependent error bounds. A data layout scheme based on hierarchical space filling curves provides access to the data in a cache coherent manner that follows the data access pattern indicated by the mesh refinement.

Experimental results showing significant reductions from classical in the Rayleigh-Taylor (RT) instability growth rate due to high pressure effective lattice viscosity are presented. Using a laser created ramped drive, vanadium samples are compressed and accelerated quasi-isentropically at {approx}1 Mbar pressures, while maintaining the sample in the solid-state. Comparisons with simulations and theory indicate that the high pressure, high strain rate conditions trigger a phonon drag mechanism, resulting in the observed high effective lattice viscosity and strong stabilization of the RT instability.

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We are developing new scintillator materials that offer potential for high resolution gamma ray spectroscopy at low cost. Single crystal SrI{sub 2}(Eu) offers {approx}3% resolution at 662 keV, in sizes of {approx}1 in{sup 3}. We have developed ceramics processing technology allowing us to achieve cubic inch scale transparent ceramic scintillators offering gamma spectroscopy performance superior to NaI(Tl). We fabricated a bismuth-loaded plastic scintillator that demonstrates energy resolution of {approx}8% at 662 keV in small sizes. Gamma ray spectroscopy can be used to identify the presence of weak radioactive sources within natural background. The ability to discriminate close-lying spectral lines is strongly dependent upon the energy resolution of the detector. In addition to excellent energy resolution, large volume detectors are needed to acquire sufficient events, for example, to identify a radioactive anomaly moving past a detector. We have employed a 'directed search' methodology for identifying potential scintillator materials candidates, resulting in the discovery of Europium-doped Strontium Iodide, SrI{sub 2}(Eu), Cerium-doped Gadolinium Garnet, GYGAG(Ce), and Bismuth-loaded Polymers. These scintillators possess very low self-radioactivity, offer energy resolution of 3-8% at 662 keV, and have potential to be grown cost-effectively to sizes similar to the most widely deployed gamma spectroscopy scintillator, Thallium-doped Sodium Iodide, …

Parylene films, coating gold substrates, were removed by laser ablation using 248 nm light from an excimer laser. Each sample was processed by a different number of pulses in one of three different environments: air at atmospheric pressure, nitrogen at atmospheric pressure, and vacuum. The laser-induced craters were analyzed by optical microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Multi-pulse ablation thresholds of gold and parylene were estimated.

Using molecular simulations and a bimodal domain network, the role of water state on Nafion water uptake and water and proton transport is investigated. Although the smaller domains provide moderate transport pathways, their effectiveness remains low due to strong, resistive water molecules/domain surface interactions. The water occupancy of the larger domains yields bulk-like water, and causes the observed transition in the water uptake and significant increases in transport properties.

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This paper describes ductile-phase roughening in V-V{sub 3}Si in-situ composites produced by conventional arc melting (AM), cold-crucible induction melting (IM), and cold-crucible directional solidification (DS). Notched three-point bending tests were performed to determine the effects of synthesis method on the room temperature fracture toughness of eutectic compositions, which contain nearly equal volume fractions of V{sub 3}Si and the V(Si) solid solution phase. Fracture toughness values ranged from 10 MPa{radical}m for the AM eutectic to over 20 MPa{radical}4m for the IM and DS eutectic alloys. SEM fractography, surface profiling, and chemical analyses were performed to correlate the toughness values with the microstructures and interstitial concentrations produced by the three synthesis methods.

The Department of Energy, Richland Operations (DOE-RL) recently restructured its Hanford work scope, awarding two new contracts over the past several months for a total of three contracts to manage the sites cleanup efforts. DOE-RL met with key contractor personnel prior to and during contract transition to ensure site welding activities had appropriate oversight and maintained code compliance. The transition also provided an opportunity to establish a single site-wide function that would provide welding and materials engineering services to the Hanford site contractors: CH2M HILL Plateau Remediation Company (CHPRC); Mission Support Alliance (MSA); Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS); and Washington Closure Hanford (WCH). Over the years, multiple and separate welding programs (amongst the several contractors) existed at the Hanford site leading to inefficiencies resulting from duplication of administrative efforts, maintenance of welding procedures, welder performance certifications, etc. The new, single program eliminates these inefficiencies. The new program, co-managed by two of the sites' new contractors, the CHPRC ('owner' of the program and responsible for construction welding services) and the MSA (provides maintenance welding services), provides more than just the traditional construction and maintenance welding services. Also provided, are welding engineering, specialty welding development/qualification for the closure of radioactive materials containers …

The indentation size effect (ISE) has been observed in numerous nanoindentation studies on crystalline materials; it is found that the hardness increases dramatically with decreasing indentation size - a 'smaller is stronger' phenomenon. Some have attributed the ISE to the existence of strain gradients and the geometrically necessary dislocations (GNDs). Since the GND density is directly related to the local lattice curvature, the Scanning X-ray Microdiffraction ({mu}SXRD) technique, which can quantitatively measure relative lattice rotations through the streaking of Laue diffractions, can used to study the strain gradients. The synchrotron {mu}SXRD technique we use - which was developed at the Advanced Light Source (ALS), Berkeley Lab - allows for probing the local plastic behavior of crystals with sub-micrometer resolution. Using this technique, we studied the local plasticity for indentations of different depths in a Cu single crystal. Broadening of Laue diffractions (streaking) was observed, showing local crystal lattice rotation due to the indentation-induced plastic deformation. A quantitative analysis of the streaking allows us to estimate the average GND density in the indentation plastic zones. The size dependence of the hardness, as found by nanoindentation, will be described, and its correlation to the observed lattice rotations will be discussed.