Wireless sensor test bed to guide industrial systems

Feb 9 | News

For consumers, wireless technology is great. But if you’re running a nuclear power plant or a pharma production line, the risk of failure is too great. Idaho Lab’s new wireless sensor network will track down the weaknesses of these systems by simulating industrial settings in a physical lab environment. They hope to supply standards the industry now lacks.

Mini-gushers: Idaho Lab and BioFuelBox turn waste grease to fuel

Feb 8 | News

Diesel fuel is the backbone of the U.S. economy, and most of it is imported and derived from petrochemicals. Biodiesel is a significant alternative, but refining it from food stocks is an ethical and economic hazard, and waste grease is rarely clean or convenient. But now, startup BioFuelBox is using an Idaho Lab catalytic process that may crack the bottleneck on this type of fuel.

For nuclear energy safety, scientists explore limits of graphite

12/28/2009 | News

Though not particularly exotic, graphite is a material with great importance to the successful operation of many current and future nuclear reactor designs: its high heat-absorption capacity keeps fuel at safe temperature. The Carbon Characterization Lab at Idaho National Lab is now trying to find out how and why not all graphite is created equal.

DOE completes 1 million miles of PHEV testing

12/14/2009 | News

More than 200 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles are racking up the miles at Idaho National Lab in an effort to find the weak spots that rear their head during real-world evaluations. Results, which are being shared with industry and were produced by more than 75 testing partners, are now available online.

A new purpose for plasma

10/27/2009 | News

Idaho National Laboratory’s Peter Kong has built a career on studying plasma, that crackling soup of bare atoms and free electrons. It’s great for welding torches, big screen TVs, and, possibly, for making nanoparticles. Kong’s experimental generator uses the phenomena involved in vaporizing materials with plasma to create a potentially new way to create high-quality nanoparticles cheaply with no by-products.

Scientists attempt to crack deeper mysteries of uranium fission

10/6/2009 | News

If nuclear energy is to be part of our future, we will need to better understand the fissile process. At an advanced nuclear reactor operated by Idaho National Lab, researchers are conducting a new type of study on the distribution of elements in fuel rods following neutron radiation in an effort to reveal how we can use more of the fissionable uranium. An additional project at INL to refine nuclear modeling to the femtometer scale should help matters.

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Much ado about next to nothing

Mar 15

The recent review of the past 10 years of the National Nanotechnology Initiative--as presented by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology--suggested the rise of nanomanufacturing as the near future of nanotechnology. But the actual proposed funding reflects a cautious approach, even about nanotech in general.

Lunar tires, space MRSA, and resonating microfluidics

Mar 5

I typically attend the annual Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Applied Spectroscopy each year in pursuit of specific coverage. This year, I sought out candidates for coverage in a vacuum technology article, and pulled together some instruments for a spectroscopy guide. But as busy as that kept me, it wasn’t all mass spectrometers and vacuum pumps on the show floor.  

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NuGard Coating Ashburn Hill

Jan 7

NuGard First Response Protective Clothing are lightweight coveralls, jackets, and pants that provide protection from heat and flame while keeping the wearers body temperature constant.

Multi-Touch Music Maker

Jan 7

Professor David Wessel shows his multi-touch interface that uses computer technologies that allow him to experiment with fine controls to "caress" the instrument.