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 […]
Category Archives: Military / Defense
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Machine-learning technique from Sandia Labs could improve fusion energy outputs
October 12, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Machine-learning techniques, best known for teaching self-driving cars to stop at red lights, may soon help researchers around the world improve their control over the most complicated reaction known to science: nuclear fusion. Fusion reactions are typically hydrogen atoms heated to form a gaseous cloud called a plasma that releases energy as […]
50 million artificial neurons to facilitate machine-learning research at Sandia
October 2, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Fifty million artificial neurons — a number roughly equivalent to the brain of a small mammal — were delivered from Portland, Oregon-based Intel Corp. to Sandia National Laboratories last month, said Sandia project leader Craig Vineyard. The neurons will be assembled to advance a relatively new kind of computing, called neuromorphic, based […]
Sandia weapons program meets safety, design requirements
June 29, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories has successfully completed another milestone in the B61-12 gravity bomb refurbishment program, demonstrating the labs is meeting important nuclear safety and use-control requirements. “The Combined Engineering Judgment is an important step toward ensuring the B61-12 Life Extension Program is on track, and Sandia is meeting design and development requirements […]
Flight tests show B61-12 compatible with F-15E Strike Eagle
June 8, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Dropped from above 25,000 feet, the mock B61-12 nuclear gravity bomb was in the air for approximately 55 seconds before hitting and embedding in the lakebed, splashing a 40- to 50-foot puff of desert dust from the designated impact area at Sandia National Laboratories’ Tonopah Test Range in Nevada. That strike was […]
Sandia to receive Fujitsu ‘green’ processor
May 26, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — This spring, Sandia National Laboratories anticipates being one of the first Department of Energy laboratories to receive the newest A64FX Fujitsu processor, a Japanese Arm-based processor optimized for high-performance computing. Arm-based processors are used widely in small electronic devices like cell phones. More recently, Arm-based processors were installed in Sandia’s Astra supercomputer, […]
Sandia supports hypersonic flight test
March 24, 2020 – 10:07 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories employees and contractors saw their work culminate in a hypersonic flight test conducted by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army on March 19 at the Kauai Test Facility in Hawaii. The Navy and Army executed the launch of a common hypersonic glide body, which flew at hypersonic speed to […]
Sandia initiatives to protect US energy grid and nuclear weapons systems
March 23, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — To deter attempts to disable U.S. electrical utilities and to defend U.S. nuclear weapon systems from evolving technological threats, Sandia National Laboratories has begun two multiyear initiatives to strengthen U.S. responses. One is focused on defending large U.S. electrical utility systems from potential attacks by hostile nations, as well as from damage […]
Sandia hosts its first Education With Industry officer
January 23, 2020 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — For the first time, a student in the prestigious and highly selective U.S. Air Force Education With Industry program will be bringing his military experience to Sandia National Laboratories and returning to his post with valuable industry experience to share. Capt. Antonio Gallop is not the typical student. He has more than […]
Sandia establishes collaborative research facility for low-temperature plasmas
December 20, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories is setting up a collaborative facility to help researchers worldwide study low-temperature plasmas, the most pervasive state of matter in the universe. The 5-year, $5.5 million project, called the Sandia Low Temperature Plasma Research Facility, is sponsored by the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. Participants will be selected […]
AI center to combine hardware, software for practical gains
October 31, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington, and the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta are launching a research center that combines hardware design and software development to improve artificial intelligence technologies that will ultimately benefit the public. AI is an emerging field with eventual applications ranging from autonomous […]
Armoring satellites to survive and operate through attacks
October 21, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Satellites do a lot of things — they help people navigate from one place to another, they deliver television programming, they search for new stars and exo-planets and they enable the U.S. nuclear deterrence strategy. But until recently, one thing they haven’t done — or needed to do — is defend themselves. […]
Sandia launches a bus into space
May 23, 2019 – 8:23 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Sandia National Laboratories recently launched a bus into space. Not the kind with wheels that go round and round, but the kind of device that links electronic devices (a USB cable, short for “universal serial bus,” is one common example). The bus was among 16 total experiments aboard two sounding rockets that […]
Terrorist, timed scenarios challenge bomb squads at Sandia’s Robot Rodeo
May 13, 2019 – 5:00 am
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Bomb squad teams from New Mexico and beyond are converging at Sandia National Laboratories for a five-day Robot Rodeo and Capability Exercise where emergency preparedness skills will be put to the test. Twelve challenges for 10 military and civilian teams have been set up for the 13th annual event that provides opportunities […]
Future hypersonics could be artificially intelligent
April 18, 2019 – 4:52 pm
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A test launch for a hypersonic weapon — a long-range missile that flies a mile per second and faster — takes weeks of planning. So, while the U.S. and other states are racing to deploy hypersonic technologies, it remains uncertain how useful the systems will be against urgent, mobile or evolving threats. […]