Research
Highlights...
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Thermodynamics drives Migliori's eclectic
career |
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| Number 51 |
March 20, 2000 |
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Carbon
dioxide puzzle explained
Researchers
at DOE's Lawrence Liveremore
National Lab have helped explain the puzzle of missing carbon
dioxide in the cold Southern Ocean near Antarctica. The Southern
Ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, but measurements
find less of this greenhouse gas near the ocean surface than
expected. In an article in Science magazine, Livermore
researchers Ken Caldeira and Phil Duffy explain that ocean currents
take the carbon dioxide deep below the surface as they flow
north to subtropical regions. Understanding this pattern helps
clarify one of the many puzzles that scientists must solve to
understand global climate change more completely.
[Jeff Garberson,
925-423-3125,
jbg@llnl.gov]
For those whose thoughts have turned to fuel economy
Car and truck buyers concerned
about either the environment or the price at the pump can turn
to a Web site
maintained by DOE's Oak Ridge
National Laboratory to find information about the environmental
and energy consequences of vehicle choices. Shoppers can check
out Environmental Protection Agency gas mileage numbers, compare
estimates of greenhouse gas emissions and follow links to other
car buyer information sites. DOE is distributing the EPA's estimates
of gas mileage for every 2000 model car and light truck, plus
recently added data on used cars from 1999 to 1985.
[Ron
Walli, 865/576-0226,
wallira@ornl.gov]
Lunar impacts linked to life on Earth
Following an idea
proposed by physicist Richard Muller of DOE's
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, a team of geologists
analyzed the history of lunar impact cratering and found a surprising
increase over the past 400 million years. This increase may
have played a central role in the evolution of life on Earth
for it coincides with the "Cambrian explosion," a period in
which terrestrial life took off with a dramatic burst in the
number and diversity of species. "Just as we stress trees, through
pruning, to make them give more fruit, the stress cause by catastrophic
impacts may have forced evolution into new directions," said
Muller.
[Lynn Yarris, 510/486-5375,
lcyarris@lbl.gov]
On the road to lighter vehicles
A composite material
developed at DOE's
Ames Laboratory may steer automotive companies toward lighter,
more fuel-efficient vehicles. The composite consists of cobalt
ferrite and small amounts of nickel and silver to hold the material
together. A quarter-inch-thick ring of the composite could be
used in an electronic torque sensor to regulate the steering
power provided to a car's wheels by an electric motor. This
would enable automakers to eliminate the heavy, energy-draining
hydraulic system currently used in power-steering assists. Estimates
indicate that switching to a lighter, energy-efficient electrical
system could improve a car's fuel efficiency by five percent.
[Susan Dieterle, 515/294-1405,
dieterle@ameslab.gov]
Scientists find key to producing hydrogen from algae
Michael Seibert, Maria Ghirardi and Marc Forestier
of DOE's National Renewable Energy
Laboratory along with scientists from the University of
California have discovered a mechanism for producing significant
quantities of hydrogen gas using green algae. After allowing
algae to grow under normal conditions, the research team deprived
them of sulfur, causing them to switch to an alternate metabolism
that generates hydrogen but not oxygen. Currently, hydrogen
fuel is extracted from natural gas, a non-renewable energy source.
The new discovery makes it possible to harness nature's own
tool, photosynthesis, to produce the promising alternative fuel
from sunlight and water. Visit http://www.urel.berkeley.edu/release
for details.
[Julia Thomas,
303/275-3023,
julia_thomas@nrel.gov]
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Eclectic
Los Alamos physicist's
work has unifying theme
Albert Migliori, a
staff member at DOE's
Los Alamos National Laboratory since 1976, is co-discoverer
of acoustic heat engines and has won numerous awards for his work
in resonant ultrasound spectroscopy. However, like many Los Alamos
scientists, Migliori has worked on a virtual What's What of cutting-edge
physics. He has pursued interests in the Mossbauer effect, design
of liquid working fluid heat engines, picosecond optical studies
of vibrational localization, ultrasound, microwave and critical
state studies of superconductors and Kondo systems, insulators
and semi-metals. He is a fellow of LANL and of the American Physical
Society, holds 21 patents, and has written more than 100 publications,
five book chapters and one book. Migliori sees the unifying theme
of his career as his fascination with thermodynamics. "Since the
age of 17 when I took my first thermodynamics course at Carnegie
Mellon University, I have been interested in the effects of thermodynamics
on the physical world," he said. Migliori's work on sound speed
measurement led to resonant ultrasound spectroscopy designs for
a number of commercial systems for such applications as detecting
flaws in auto parts. He gives annual lectures on these techniques
at the Physical Acoustics Summer School in California. Migliori
recently applied these techniques to the study of the properties
of plutonium, making the first sound speed measures on that metal
since 1973. "With resonant ultrasound, we can study plutonium
aging in real time, which will allow us to make superb predictions
for stockpile stewardship, and possibly reduce the number of weapons
in the stockpile," he said. Migliori currently works at the National
High Magnetic Field Laboratory at Los Alamos, a natural extension
to his previous work. "Magnetic fields act as an intrinsic thermodynamic
variable," he said. "The availability of the very highest research
magnetic fields in the world give me the opportunity to study
many aspects of the thermodynamics of solids." Migliori is an
unabashed cheerleader for the Laboratory. "Los Alamos is an outstanding
place to do research," he said. "It's amazing what scientists
have been able to accomplish here."
Submitted
by DOE's Los Alamos National
Laboratory
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