THAT BLASTED BOOM BOX!
Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers have teamed up with the New Mexico State Police and Foster-Miller Inc. to create an inexpensive, versatile, portable container that can capture shrapnel from a hefty pipe bomb and redirect the blast away from personnel and critical property. The "Frag Bag" is a small, lightweight box that can be carried by a human into confined areas -- making it more versatile than heavy blast-containment devices that often must be moved by vehicles. The Frag Bag contains no metal, making it useful in x-ray machines, and it can be easily handled by a robot. Since the bag captures all shrapnel, investigators can recover and analyze bomb fragments, which contain vital clues about the bomb maker or the origin of the materials. Since large containment vessels are expensive, they often are scarce in less-metropolitan areas; the Frag Bag -- which fits in the trunk of a car and can be used to store a bomb technician's tools -- makes it possible for smaller law-enforcement agencies to have bomb containment kits readily available. The Frag Bag is commercially available. In addition, Los Alamos researchers are working with their law enforcement and industry counterparts to develop a similar device that will contain an explosion, bomb fragments, and possible biological and chemical warfare agents by novel uses of existing technology. When successfully developed, the new explosive containment device will be an effective tool against terrorism.
James E. Rickman, (505) 665-9203, [email protected]
A NOISY DROP OF WATER
Ultrasonic analysis can reveal the contents of sealed containers or the structural integrity of solid objects. Now Los Alamos researchers have shown that they can analyze samples of liquids as tiny as a single drop -- and without a container. The recently patented technique uses two closely spaced transducers -- devices that convert electrical energy into sound and vice versa -- or a single transducer and reflector. Surface tension holds a droplet between the two elements as they subject the sample to a spectrum of ultrasonic frequencies. The response of the droplet yields unique clues to its composition, with a sensitivity of one part in a million. The sample can even be excited with a laser or magnetic field and the induced changes in the sample measured ultrasonically. Possible applications include detecting minuscule quantities of drugs or measuring the chemistry of droplets of blood, tears or substances such as bee or snake venom. The method can be applied to small samples of tissue as well, and researchers intend to explore using the ultrasonic technique as an in situ, realtime biopsy tool.
Gary Kliewer, (505) 665-2085, [email protected]
REFLECTING ON LASER POWER
A new Los Alamos free-electron laser design uses an optical feedback scheme to achieve peak power 10 times higher than other lasers of its kind. Unlike conventional lasers, which convert the energy stored in a chemical, gas or solid-state medium into light, free-electron lasers derive their energy from a supercharged electron beam passed through a series of magnets called a wiggler. The wiggler moves the beam from side to side causing the electrons to radiate extremely intense light. But that laser beam damaged the surface of a free-electron laser's mirrors, limiting its peak power -- until now. In Los Alamos' new design, 90 percent of the generated laser light leaves the instrument as useful radiation without hitting the mirrors. Ten percent of the light is reflected, or fed back, to the entrance of the wiggler. The fed-back photons organize the electrons and help the laser build to its operating power level very quickly. The mirrors in the optical feedback path are not damaged because most of the laser beam generated bypasses the mirrors. The comparatively rugged and compact design can be adapted to many applications, from precision industrial welding to laser surgery performed with less attendant tissue damage.
Gary Kliewer, (505) 665-2085, [email protected]
For more information contact 505-667-7000
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