ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The huge forces generated by the Z machine at Sandia National Laboratories are being used to replicate the gravitational pressures on so-called “super-Earths” to determine which might maintain atmospheres that could support life. Astronomers believe that super-Earths — collections of rocks up to eight times larger than Earth — exist in the […]
Search Results for: Z
Record neutron numbers at Sandia Labs’ Z machine fusion experiments
October 27, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— A relatively new method to control nuclear fusion that combines a massive jolt of electricity with strong magnetic fields and a powerful laser beam has achieved its own record output of neutrons — a key standard by which fusion efforts are judged — at Sandia National Laboratories’ Z pulsed power facility, the most […]
New device in Z machine measures power for nuclear fusion
April 10, 2019 – 10:07 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — If you’re chasing the elusive goal of nuclear fusion and think you need a bigger reactor to do the job, you first might want to know precisely how much input energy emerging from the wall plug is making it to the heart of your machine. If somewhere during that journey you could […]
Black hole models contradicted by hands-on tests at Sandia’s Z machine
August 28, 2017 – 9:50 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A long-standing but unproven assumption about the X-ray spectra of black holes in space has been contradicted by hands-on experiments performed at Sandia National Laboratories’ Z machine. Z, the most energetic laboratory X-ray source on Earth, can duplicate the X-rays surrounding black holes that otherwise can be watched only from a great distance and then theorized […]
Sandia’s Z machine receives funding aimed at fusion energy
June 29, 2015 – 10:20 am
Laser beam ‘smoothing’ with University of Rochester to play key role ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A two-year, $3.8 million award has been received by Sandia National Laboratories and the University of Rochester’s Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) to hasten the day of low-cost, high-yield fusion reactions for energy purposes. High-yield means much more energy emerging from […]
Sandia’s Z machine helps solve Saturn’s 2-billion-year age gap
June 26, 2015 – 8:35 am
Research supports 80-year-old prediction ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Planets tend to cool as they get older, but Saturn is hotter than astrophysicists say it should be without some additional energy source. The unexplained heat has caused a two-billion-year discrepancy for computer models estimating Saturn’s age. “Models that correctly predict Jupiter to be 4.5 billion years old […]
Iron rain fell on early Earth, new Z machine data supports
March 18, 2015 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories’ Z machine have helped untangle a long-standing mystery of astrophysics: why iron is found spattered throughout Earth’s mantle, the roughly 2,000-mile thick region between Earth’s core and its crust. At first blush, it seemed more reasonable that iron arriving from collisions between Earth and planetesimals — ranging […]
Japanese city councilor journeys to end furor over Sandia Z tests
May 23, 2013 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Yasuyuki Kaneko left his wife and two small children at the end of April to fly from the northern Japanese city of Sapporo to Albuquerque. He stayed overnight at a small hotel a few blocks from the airport. The next morning, Kaneko — a Sapporo city councilor — took the final step of […]
Second Z plutonium “shot” safely tests materials for NNSA
May 11, 2011 – 7:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) today announced that researchers from Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories have completed their second experiment in the past six months at Sandia’s Z machine to explore the properties of plutonium materials under extreme pressures and temperatures. The information is used to keep the U.S. nuclear […]
Sandia scientists achieve breakthrough in tackling PFAS contamination
June 1, 2023 – 11:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A team at Sandia National Laboratories is developing materials to tackle what has become one of the biggest problems in the world: human exposure to a group of chemicals known as PFAS through contaminated water and other products. Sandia is now investing more money to take their research to the next level. […]
Two small businesses added to Sandia National Laboratories’ Mentor-Protégé program
May 22, 2023 – 9:57 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories grew its Mentor-Protégé program from three companies to five with the addition of Dynamic Structures and Materials, LLC of Franklin, Tennessee, and Compunetics Inc., of Monroeville, Pennsylvania. The program not only helps small businesses develop and grow, but also helps foster long-term relationships that help Sandia achieve its mission. […]
Sandia switches to hydrogen weather balloons
May 9, 2023 – 10:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Hundreds of miles north of the Arctic Circle, Sandia National Laboratories researchers ensure the collection of important weather and climate data. By switching the gas used in their weather balloons, they have reduced their metaphorical footprint on the fragile Arctic ecosystem. More than three years ago, the Sandia-operated atmospheric measurement facility in […]
Kids Day returns to Sandia post pandemic with record attendance
May 4, 2023 – 12:00 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Nearly 2,000 kids filled Sandia National Laboratories’ Albuquerque site, and another 200 filled the Livermore, California site, to see the cool things their parents and relatives do as part of Kids Day, the highest attendance ever recorded. It’s the first time Sandia has opened its gates like this since the pandemic hit, […]
Using math to map social connections
May 4, 2023 – 5:00 am
LIVERMORE, Calif. — Imagine being able to predict how a group of people will behave before they even know it themselves. From the dynamics of a sports team to the complexities of a nation, the ability to anticipate human interactions has long been a goal of scientists and analysts. Now, a team of researchers at […]
Let’s get cracking: Sandia scientists detect gases from fractured rock
May 2, 2023 – 7:03 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Geoscientists have detected specific gases being released from fractured rocks in real time after a series of small chemical explosions set underground. This fundamental research, led by Sandia National Laboratories geoscientist Steve Bauer, could one day improve the prediction of earthquakes or detection of underground explosions. “In the different shots, we were […]