ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A machine-learning algorithm developed at Sandia National Laboratories could provide auto manufacturing, aerospace and other industries a faster and more cost-efficient way to test bulk materials. The technique was published recently in the scientific journal Materials Science and Engineering: A. Production stoppages are costly. So, manufacturers screen materials like sheet metal for […]
Author Archives: Troy Rummler
Algorithm could shorten quality testing, research in many industries by months
February 15, 2022 – 5:00 am
How Sandia Labs is revealing the inner workings of quantum computers
January 19, 2022 – 9:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A precision diagnostic developed at the Department of Energy’s Sandia National Laboratories is emerging as a gold standard for detecting and describing problems inside quantum computing hardware. Two papers published today in the scientific journal Nature describe how separate research teams — one including Sandia researchers — used a Sandia technique called […]
Measuring a quantum computer’s power just got faster and more accurate
December 20, 2021 – 9:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — What does a quantum computer have in common with a top draft pick in sports? Both have attracted lots of attention from talent scouts. Quantum computers, experimental machines that can perform some tasks faster than supercomputers, are constantly evaluated, much like young athletes, for their potential to someday become game-changing technology. Now, […]
1 day. 3 rockets. 23 experiments.
October 22, 2021 – 12:18 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — One year to design, build and test three rockets. Six weeks to unpack, assemble and test them at the flight range. One day to launch them. Sandia National Laboratories launched three sounding rockets in succession for the Department of Defense on Wednesday. The triple launch was conducted at NASA’s launch range at […]
Kauai Test Facility launches its largest missile
September 28, 2021 – 10:02 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The largest missile ever to launch from Sandia National Laboratories’ Kauai Test Facility in Hawaii has shown the storied test range is still growing to meet the testing needs of advanced weapons systems. Sandia used the four years leading up the launch to ensure the test facility could safely accommodate the new […]
Major upgrade to HOT Shot rocket program culminates in successful launch
September 13, 2021 – 8:58 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories announced that a major upgrade to the National Nuclear Security Administration’s HOT Shot sounding rocket program culminated in a successful launch on Saturday at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. HOT Shot, short for High Operational Tempo Shot, collects scientific data that benefits aerospace research and informs future […]
What if the secret to your brain’s elusive computing power is its randomness?
September 7, 2021 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — If you’ve ever asked a car mechanic how long a part will last until it breaks, odds are they shrugged their shoulders. They know how long parts last on average, and they can see when one is close to breaking. But knowing how many miles are left is extremely difficult, even using […]
Imaging tool under development exposes concealed detonators — and their charge
July 22, 2021 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Behold the neutron, the middle child of subatomic particles. At times overshadowed by its electrically charged siblings the proton and the electron, neutrons quietly play important roles in national security. They start nuclear reactions for weapons and power plants. They bombard materials for nuclear safety tests. And now they have a new […]
World’s smallest, best acoustic amplifier emerges from 50-year-old hypothesis
June 2, 2021 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Scientists at Sandia National Laboratories have built the world’s smallest and best acoustic amplifier. And they did it using a concept that was all but abandoned for almost 50 years. According to a paper published May 13 in Nature Communications, the device is more than 10 times more effective than the earlier […]
Prehistoric humans first traversed Australia by ‘superhighways’
May 3, 2021 – 10:21 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sometime between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago, prehistoric humans took their first steps into Sahul, an ancient landmass made up of modern Australia, New Guinea and Tasmania. But nobody knows which way they went after that. “One of the really big unanswered questions of prehistory is how Australia was populated in the […]
Reusable respirator could ease COVID-19 medical mask shortages
April 1, 2021 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Many medical professionals and other essential, front-line workers have struggled for the past year with persistent shortages of N95 masks. Soon, they might get relief from a Sandia National Laboratories invention — a comfortable, reusable, sterilizable respirator that could ease demand during current or future health crises. Sandia has filed for patent […]
Rare open-access quantum computer now operational
March 15, 2021 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A new Department of Energy open-access quantum computing testbed is ready for the public. Scientists from Indiana University recently became the first team to begin using Sandia National Laboratories’ Quantum Scientific Computing Open User Testbed, or QSCOUT. Quantum computers are poised to become major technological drivers over the coming decades. But to […]
Advanced materials in a snap
January 5, 2021 – 10:03 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — If everything moved 40,000 times faster, you could eat a fresh tomato three minutes after planting a seed. You could fly from New York to L.A. in half a second. And you’d have waited in line at airport security for that flight for 30 milliseconds. Thanks to machine learning, designing materials for […]