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Los Alamos Science Archive
Issue: 1-5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20
| 21-25 | 26-30
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| Particle Physics |
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During the second half of the 20th century, the field of elementary particle physics brought a major new understanding of the world at the smallest scales. That knowledge, summarized in the so-called Standard Model of particle physics, has remained valid for over 25 years. This volume is a tutorial by members of LANL's Theoretical Division that explains to scientists outside of the field the most important ideas of the Standard Model. It also includes speculations on extensions of the Standard Model to include the effects of gravity. The most accessible piece in the volume is an informal discussion about personal views and experiences in the particle physics enterprise.
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| Astrophysics |
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LANL has long been a home to astrophysics research because the physical phenomena key to the performance of nuclear weapons-thermonuclear fusion, implosion and explosion, shock waves, hot plasmas, and materials under extreme temperatures and pressures- are also key to the dynamics of astronomical objects. This issue on astrophysics centers on the accretion of matter onto very dense stars and black holes and the interpretation of x-ray signals emitted during that process. Also discussed is an unsolved puzzle: how does matter held up by its circular motion around a central dense star or black hole lose that angular momentum and ultimately submit to the pull of gravity?
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| Natural Heat Engine |
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Natural heat engines were the passion of the late John Wheatley, one of the greatest low-temperature physicists of the 20th century. Natural engines have no moving parts, making them ideal for applications in space. John Wheatley loved them because they could be fully understood using classical thermodynamics. In a roundtable, his colleagues bring to life Wheatley's unique style of work and dedication. Other topics in this volume include the application of photoconductivity to ultra-fast electronic devices, LANL-sponsored geothermal energy projects in the Caribbean Basin, and finally Herb Anderson's tribute to Nick Metropolis. Metropolis is famous for designing the MANIAC, one of the first digital computers and for greatly improving the effectiveness of the Monte Carlo method, an extremely useful numerical technique invented at Los Alamos that employs statistical sampling to simulate the results of complicated physical phenomena.
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| Special Issue, Stanislaw Ulam 1909-1984 |
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Stan Ulam, brilliant mathematician, participant in the Manhattan Project, and co-inventor of the hydrogen bomb, was one of those extraordinary men who solidified LANL's early reputation. Stan left a legacy in mathematics, physics, and biology, reflecting his immense intelligence and gift for abstraction. He was a catalyst for new programs at LANL and offered novel ideas even to fields he knew little about. In this volume, mathematicians and physicists who were very close to Stan describe his influence on their way of thinking. Their own contributions to fields in which Stan played a seminal role-from probability theory and nonlinear systems to the Monte Carlo method, heuristic mathematics, and DNA sequence analysis- were also discussed. In the closing section of this volume, called "The Ulam Touch-Unpublished Items," the reader gets a direct feel for Ulam's irrepressible wit and imagination.
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Issue: 1-5 | 6-10 | 11-15 | 16-20
| 21-25 | 26-30
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