New subatomic particle at SLAC

The BABAR Detector at SLAC

The BaBaR experiment at DOE's Stanford Linear Accelerator Center has identified a new subatomic particle. The new particle called the Ds (2317), which combines a charm quark with another heavy quark—an anti strange, has unexpected properties that will provide insight into the force that binds the quarks together. The existence of the particle is not a surprise, but its mass is lower than expected, which will send theorists back to the drawing boards. A scientific paper was sent for publication in Physical Review Letters on April 11th 2003.

[Neil Calder, 650/926-8707;
neil.calder@slac.stanford.edu]

Chem/bio defense for San Francisco International Airport

San Francisco International Airport spokesman Mike McCarron recently praised "the wonderful relationship" with DOE's Sandia National Laboratories that led to the first testing of chemical and biological defense at a major international airport. The research is an outgrowth of work with the Washington Metro, begun in 1997 with Argonne National Laboratory, to characterize chemical detection systems in a subway setting. That sensor system is now entering operation at several Metro stations. The San Francisco airport work began in DOE's Chemical and Biological National Security Program and now continues under the Department of Homeland Security's Science and Technology Directorate.

[Howard Kercheval, 505/844-7842,
hckerch@sandia.gov]

Oak Ridge tracks down explosives from the air

Using state-of-the-art equipment, researchers from DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed several sophisticated airborne sensor systems that can detect, characterize and digitally map unexploded ordnance—including items buried as deeply as 30 feet into the ground. These helicopter-mounted systems have applications for the military as efforts are under way in the Persian Gulf region to unearth and destroy mines, weapons caches and other dangerous hidden ordnance-related materials.

[Fred Strohl, 865/574-4165;
strohlhf@ornl.gov]

Jefferson Lab experiment could lead way to new class of accelerators

DOE's Jefferson Lab recently conducted an experiment with the Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator to determine the feasibility and effectiveness of energy-recovery technology that could lead to a new class of particle accelerators. With minor modifications, Jlab's accelerator became a "novel test bed" for recirculating linacs with energy-recovery capabilities. If results are what scientists hope for, any advances could be applied to future energy-recovery linacs, or ERLs. Existing machines, like Jlab's Free-Electron Laser, could benefit, as well as next-generation devices such as ion colliders and advanced light sources. Energy recovery is the centerpiece of a new operation mode for recirculating linacs, where the high-energy beam returns its energy for further acceleration of a "fresh" batch of electrons.

[Debbie Magaldi, 757/269-5102,
magaldi@jlab.org]

PNNL Finds the killer weed

[Sue Chin, 509-375-3640,
sue.chin@pnl.gov]

Livermore's Mr. Plutonium

Bruce Goodwin

With six distinct physical phases, a melting point of only 1184°F, and a density approaching twice that of lead, element number 94 is a truly puzzling substance. It's manmade in reactors, a powerful energy source, and emotionally charged—because it's the stuff that bombs are made of. As Associate Director for Defense and Nuclear Technologies, Bruce Goodwin heads the nuclear weapons program at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. And as someone who has designed and tested nuclear weapons, he's also a renowned expert on the behavior in nuclear weapons of the heavy radioactive metal called plutonium.

For his theoretical plutonium work, Goodwin recently received DOE's E.O. Lawrence Award in the national security category. Established in 1959, the award honors the late Ernest Orlando Lawrence, inventor of the cyclotron and namesake for DOE's Lawrence Livermore and Lawrence Berkeley national laboratories.

Goodwin revised equations of state for plutonium under extreme pressures—information essential to the nation's stewardship of aging nuclear weapons without full-scale nuclear testing. "I came up with some theories for the equations of state for plutonium under extreme conditions derived from peculiarities I saw in nuclear test data," Goodwin said. "I was flying in the face of 40 years of research, and even I thought it couldn't be true." But Goodwin's ideas did prove true.

For earlier nuclear design work, Goodwin three times received the "Award of Excellence" for Significant Contribution to the Nuclear Weapons Program from DOE's Office of Military Application. He also has received Aviation Week and Space Technology Magazine Year 2000 "Aerospace Laurels Honor" for significant contributions to the aerospace field.

An honors graduate in Physics from The City College of the City University of New York, Goodwin earned an M.S. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois, followed by his Ph.D. in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Submitted by DOE's Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory