Article on structural and electronic properties of carbon nanotube tapers, a set of nanostructures comprised of straight tubular sections with decreasing diameters, joined to each other via conical funnels and terminated with a hemispherical cap.

An integrating solid state detector with segmentation has been developed that addresses the needs in scanning transmission x-ray microscopy below 1 keV photon energy. The detector is not cooled and can be operated without an entrance window which leads to a total photon detection efficiency close to 100%. The chosen segmentation with 8 independent segments is matched to the geometry of the STXM to maximize image mode flexibility. In the bright field configuration for 1 ms integration time and 520 eV x-rays the rms noise is 8 photons per integration.

Laser-based experiments are being developed to study the response of solids under high pressure loading. Diagnostic techniques that have been applied include dynamic x-ray diffraction, VISAR wave profile measurements, and post-shock recovery and analysis. These techniques are presented with some results from shocked Si, Al, and Cu experiments.

Isotopic compositions of core-water samples from boreholes USW SD-6 and USW WT-24 indicate that recent water has been introduced at depth. Tritium, carbon, oxygen, and deuterium isotopic compositions all support younger water at depth in the two boreholes. Peaks in tritium concentrations in pore-water samples, indicating younger water than the other samples, observed near the basal vitrophyre of the Topopah Spring Tuff and at the bottom of the CHF and the top of the PP in both boreholes SD-6 and WT-24. Larger {sup 14}C activities in two pore-water samples from WT-24 at the bottom of the CHF and the top of the PP indicate younger water than in other samples from WT-24. More positive {delta}{sup 18}O and {delta}D values indicate younger water in samples of pore water at the bottom of the CHF in boreholes SD-6 and WT-24. The isotopic compositions indicating younger water at depth in boreholes SD-6 and WT-24 occur at the basal vitrophyre zone of the Topopah Spring Tuff and the bottom of the CHF/upper part of the PP, probably from lateral preferential flow through connected fractures (fast-flow paths). The source of the young water at borehole WT-24 probably was recharge from The Prow to the north, …

The concept of x-ray laser synchrotron sources (LSS) based on Thomson scattering between laser photons and relativistic electrons leads to future femtosecond light-source facilities fit to multidisciplinary research in ultra-fast structural dynamics. Enticed by these prospects, the Brookhaven Accelerator Test Facility (ATF) embarked into development of the LSS based on a combination of a photocathode RF linac and a picosecond CO{sub 2} laser. We observed the record 1.7 x 10{sup 8} x-ray photons/pulse yield generated via relativistic Thomson scattering between the 14 GW CO{sub 2} laser and 60 MeV electron beam.

Pore water in the Topopah Spring Tuff has a narrow range of {delta}{sup 87}Sr values that can be calculated from the {delta}{sup 87}Sr values of the rock considering advection through and reaction with the overlying nonwelded tuffs of the PTn. This model can be extended to estimate the variation of {delta}{sup 87}Sr in the pore water through time; this approximates the variation of {delta}{sup 87}Sr measured in calcite fracture coatings. In samples of calcite where no silica can be dated by other methods, strontium isotope data may be the only method to determine ages. In addition, other Sr-bearing minerals in the calcite and opal coatings, such as fluorite, may be dated using the same model.

Developing real-time automated test systems for embedded control systems has been a real problem. Some engineers and scientists have used customized software and hardware as a solution, which can be very expensive and time consuming to develop. We have discovered how to integrate a suite of commercially available off-the-shelf software tools and hardware to develop a scalable test platform that is capable of performing complete black-box testing for a dual-channel real-time Embedded-PLC-based control system (www.aps.anl.gov). We will discuss how the Vali/Test Pro testing methodology was implemented to structure testing for a personnel safety system with large quantities of requirements and test cases.

The unsaturated zone (UZ) in Miocene-age welded tuffs at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, is under consideration as a potential site for the construction of a high-level radioactive waste repository. Secondary calcite and silica minerals deposited on fractures and in cavities in the UZ tuffs are texturally, isotopically, and geochemically consistent with UZ deposition from meteoric water infiltrating at the surface and percolating through the UZ along fractures. Nonetheless, two-phase fluid inclusions with small and consistent vapor to liquid (V:L) ratios that yield consistent temperatures within samples and which range from about 35 to about 80 C between samples have led some to attribute these deposits to formation from upwelling hydrothermal waters. Geochronologic studies have shown that calcite and silica minerals began forming at least 10 Ma and continued to form into the Holocene. If their deposition were really from upwelling water flooding the UZ, it would draw into question the suitability of the site as a waste repository.

The {sup 207}Pb/{sup 235}U ages for 14 subsamples of opal or chalcedony layers younger than calcite formed at elevated temperature range between 1.88 {+-} 0.05 and 9.7 {+-} 1.5 Ma with most values older than 6-8 Ma. These data indicate that fluids with elevated temperatures have not been present in the unsaturated zone at Yucca Mountain since about 1.9 Ma and most likely since 6-8 Ma. Discordant U-Pb isotope data for chalcedony subsamples representing the massive silica stage in the formation of the coatings are interpreted using a model of the diffusive loss of U decay products. The model gives an age estimate for the time of chalcedony formation around 10-11 Ma, which overlaps ages of clay minerals formed in tuffs below the water table at Yucca Mountain during the Timber Mountain thermal event.

An integrating solid state detector with segmentation has been developed that addresses the needs in scanning transmission x-ray microscopy below 1 keV photon energy. The detector is not cooled and can be operated without an entrance window which leads to a total photon detection efficiency close to 100%. The chosen segmentation with 8 independent segments is matched to the geometry of the STXM to maximize image mode flexibility. In the bright field configuration for 1 ms integration time and 520 eV x-rays the rms noise is 8 photons per integration.

None

This report discusses the effects of age and sex on the retention and excretion of {sup 137}Cs in the body in a cross section of the general population over a four-year period.

Direct detection of photons emitted or reflected by an extrasolar planet is an extremely difficult but extremely exciting application of adaptive optics. Typical contrast levels for an extrasolar planet would be 10{sup 9}-Jupiter is a billion times fainter than the sun. Current adaptive optics systems can only achieve contrast levels of 10{sup 6}, but so-called ''extreme'' adaptive optics systems with 10{sup 4}-10{sup 5} degrees of freedom could potentially detect extrasolar planets. We explore the scaling laws defining the performance of these systems, first set out by Angel (1994), and derive a different definition of an optimal system. Our sensitivity predictions are somewhat more pessimistic than the original paper, due largely to slow decorrelation timescales for some noise sources, though choosing to site an ExAO system at a location with exceptional r{sub 0} (e.g. Mauna Kea) can offset this. We also explore the effects of segment aberrations in a Keck-like telescope on ExAO; although the effects are significant, they can be mitigated through Lyot coronagraphy.

The National Ignition Facility (NIF) currently under construction at the University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) is a 192-beam, 1.8-megajoule, 500-terawatt, 351-nm laser for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and high-energy-density experimental studies. NIF is being built by the Department of Energy and the National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) to provide an experimental test bed for the U.S. Stockpile Stewardship Program to ensure the country's nuclear deterrent without underground nuclear testing. The experimental program will encompass a wide range of physical phenomena from fusion energy production to materials science. Of the roughly 700 shots available per year, about 10% will be dedicated to basic science research. Laser hardware is modularized into line replaceable units (LRUs) such as deformable mirrors, amplifiers, and multi-function sensor packages that are operated by a distributed computer control system of nearly 60,000 control points. The supervisory control room presents facility-wide status and orchestrates experiments using operating parameters predicted by physics models. A network of several hundred front-end processors (FEPs) implements device control. The object-oriented software system is implemented in the Ada and Java languages and emphasizes CORBA distribution of reusable software objects. NIF is currently scheduled to provide first light in 2004 and will be …

This case study highlights the technical challenges of creating an application that uses a multithreaded scene graph toolkit for rendering and uses a software environment for management of tiled display systems. Scene graph toolkits simplify and streamline graphics applications by providing data management and rendering services. Software for tiled display environments typically performs device and event management by opening windows on displays, by gathering and processing input device events, and by orchestrating the execution of application rendering code. These environments serve double-duty as frameworks for creating parallel rendering applications. We explore technical issues related to interfacing scene graph systems with software that manages tiled projection systems in the context of an implementation, and formulate suggestions for the future growth of such systems.

Materials properties measurements are made for the RDX-based explosive, PBXN-109, and initial ALE3D model predictions are given for the cookoff temperature in a U.S. Navy test. This work is part of an effort in the U.S. Navy and Department of Energy (DOE) laboratories to understand the thermal explosion behavior of this material. Benchmark cookoff experiments are being performed by the U.S. Navy to validate DOE materials models and computer codes. The ALE3D computer code can model the coupled thermal, mechanical, and chemical behavior of heating, ignition, and explosion in cookoff tests. In our application, a standard three-step step model is selected for the chemical kinetics. The strength behavior of the solid constituents is represented by a Steinberg-Guinan model while polynomial and gamma-law expressions are used for the Equation Of State (EOS) for the solid and gas species, respectively. Materials characterization measurements are given for thermal expansion, heat capacity, shear modulus, bulk modulus, and One-Dimensional-Time-to-Explosion (ODTX). These measurements and those of the other project participants are used to determine parameters in the ALE3D chemical, mechanical, and thermal models. Time-dependent, two-dimensional results are given for the temperature and material expansion. The results show predicted cookoff temperatures slightly higher than the measured values.

Shock-induced chemical reactions in {approx}58% dense Mo+2Si powder mixtures were investigated using time-resolved instrumented experiments, employing PVDF-piezoelectric stress gauges placed at the front and rear surfaces of the powders to measure the input and propagated stresses, and wave speed through the powder mixture. Experiments performed on the powders at input stresses less than 4 GPa, showed characteristics of powder densification and dispersed propagated wave stress profiles with rise time > {approx}40 nanoseconds. At input stress between 4-6 GPa, the powder mixtures showed a sharp rise time (<{approx}10 ns) of propagated wave profile and an expanded state of products revealing evidence of shock-induced chemical reaction. At input stresses greater than 6 GPa, the powder mixtures showed a slower propagated-stress-wave rise time and transition to a low-compressibility (melt) state indicating lack of shock-induced reaction. The results illustrate that premature melting of Si, at input stresses less than the crush-strength of the powder mixtures, restricts mixing between reactants and inhibits ''shock-induced'' reaction initiation.

The Mayak Production Association (PA Mayak), an industrial site in Russia, will be assigned multiple new plutonium disposition missions in order to implement the ''Agreement Between The Government Of The United States Of America And The Government Of Russian Federation Concerning The Management And Disposition Of Plutonium Designated As No Longer Required For Defense Purposes And Related Cooperation'' signed September 1, 2000, by Gore and Kasyanov, In addition, the mission of industrial-scale mixed-oxide (MOX) fabrication will be assigned to either the Mining Chemical Combine (MCC) industrial site at Krasnoyarsk-26 (K-26) or PA Mayak. Over the next decades, these new missions will generate radioactive wastes containing weapons-grade plutonium. The existing Mayak and K-26 onsite facilities and infrastructures cannot currently treat and immobilize these Pu-containing wastes for storage and disposal. However, the wastes generated under the Agreement must be properly immobilized, treated, and managed. New waste treatment and immobilization missions at Mayak may include operating facilities for plutonium metal-to-oxide conversion processes, industrial-scale MOX fuel fabrication, BN-600 PAKET hybrid core MOX fuel fabrication, and a plutonium conversion demonstration process. The MCC K-26 site, if assigned the industrial-scale MOX fuel fabrication mission, would also need to add facilities to treat and immobilize the Pu-containing …

We are interested in building structured overlapping grids for geometries defined by computer-aided-design (CAD) packages. Geometric information defining the boundary surfaces of a computation domain is often provided in the form of a collection of possibly hundreds of trimmed patches. The first step in building an overlapping volume grid on such a geometry is to build overlapping surface grids. A surface grid is typically built using hyperbolic grid generation; starting from a curve on the surface, a grid is grown by marching over the surface. A given hyperbolic grid will typically cover many of the underlying CAD surface patches. The fundamental operation needed for building surface grids is that of projecting a point in space onto the closest point on the CAD surface. We describe an fast algorithm for performing this projection, it will make use of a fairly coarse global triangulation of the CAD geometry. We describe how to build this global triangulation by first determining the connectivity of the CAD surface patches. This step is necessary since it often the case that the CAD description will contain no information specifying how a given patch connects to other neighboring patches. Determining the connectivity is difficult since the surface patches …

The successful installation and commissioning of high-field superconducting bend magnets (superbends) in three curved sectors of ALS storage ring was the first time the magnet lattice of an operating synchrotron light source has been retrofitted in this fundamental way. As a result, the ALS now offers an expanded spectral range well into the hard x-ray region without compromising either the number of undulators or their high brightness in the soft x-ray region for which the ALS design was originally optimized. In sum, when the superbend-enhanced ALS started up for user operations in October 2001, it marked the beginning of a new era in its history.

Yucca Mountain is under study as a potential site for underground storage of high-level radioactive waste, with the principle goal being the safe isolation of the waste from the accessible environment. This paper addresses the hydrogeologic characteristics of the fault zones at Yucca Mountain, focusing primarily on the central part of the mountain where the potential repository block is located.

This paper examines the seismic signatures of discrete, finite-length fractures, and outlines an approach for elastic, prestack reverse-time imaging of discrete fractures. The results of this study highlight the importance of incorporating fracture-generated P-S converted waves into the imaging method, and presents an alternate imaging condition that can be used in elastic reverse-time imaging when a direct wave is recorded (e.g., for crosswell and VSP acquisition geometries).

The detection capabilities of the new U-232/Th-228 source are comparable to those of the Na-24 source. The main benefit in using the new source is the ease of operation. Elimination of the neutron activation step required for Na-24 sources saves about 24 hours in planning, scheduling, and executing. With the new U-232/Th-228 source, the monitor can be put in operation in less than 15 minutes. The long half-life of the U-232/Th-228 source also eliminates the need to record calibration and measurement times, as required for decay corrections when using a Na-24 source.

Test chambers for conducting in situ fish bioassays were constructed from 8L polyethylene bottles. Yearling fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) and young-of-the-year bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) demonstrated greater than 50 percent survival in the chambers after 65 days of exposure in a reservoir, river, and creek. Fathead minnow survival was substantially greater than that of bluegills. The chambers provide a simple, inexpensive, sensitive technique to screen effluents for toxicity.