Los Alamos National Laboratory April Tip Sheet
CAN'T KNOCK THIS INVENTION A fast and inexpensive new instrument from Los Alamos quickly and accurately reads the octane rating of gasoline. Octane rating -- a number indicating the degree of knocking of a fuel mixture under standard test conditions -- must meet federal requirements for accuracy. The conventional process to determine octane rating is a slow, cumbersome operation with a test engine and a knockmeter. The new device generates and reads acoustic resonances within the gasoline to make high-resolution measurements in less than 10 seconds. The instrument takes measurements through a container without contacting the liquid itself. It can be easily modified for monitoring pipes and reaction chambers, suggesting many applications for industry. (Gary Kliewer, 505-665-2085, [email protected])
BEAMING DOWN IMPROVED COATINGS Carbon monoxide is a potentially deadly, colorless, odorless gas that results from the incomplete burning of heating fuels. Carbon monoxide poisoning causes half of all poisoning deaths in the United States each year. Carbon monoxide warning monitors could potentially save thousands of lives a year. The current commercial sensor technologies detect carbon monoxide rather slowly at levels of hundreds of parts per million, concentrations many times above the dangerous exposure threshold limit determined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Los Alamos researchers have developed inexpensive, solid-state ceramic carbon monoxide sensors that can detect this gas in air at concentrations hundreds of time lower than what existing sensors can detect and with a response time of seconds rather than hours. Yet, the projected cost and packaging and power requirements of the ceramic sensors is very similar to currently available devices. (Kathy DeLucas, 505-665-9201, [email protected])
KEEPING PLUTONIUM IN THE PINK Los Alamos researchers are developing a way to use erbia -- a pink, rare-earth oxide material that's extremely stable -- as a thin-film coating for nuclear weapons components. Erbia is more stable than any plutonium oxide and therefore resists degradation in the presence of molten plutonium, an important safety characteristic when building weapons components, especially those components that are designed to prevent the dispersal of plutonium in the event of an accidental fire. The Los Alamos team is investigating several methods for coating surfaces with erbia, including spray coatings, chemical vapor deposition, physical vapor deposition, and plasma-source ion implantation. In addition, researchers are comprehensively characterizing erbia to learn about the material's mechanical properties, microstructure, particle size and behavior. Beyond the nuclear weapons arena, erbia also may prove useful for industrial applications that require coating molds for metal components. (contact Ja
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