A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine outlined the advantages of boosting High Energy Density (HED) research and identifies key challenges in the field.
The study, undertaken by the Committee on the Assessment of High Energy Density Science, was sponsored by the National Nuclear Security Administration. Félicie Albert, deputy director for the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) High Energy Density Science Center and a scientist in the National Ignition Facility and Photon Science Directorate (NIF&PS), contributed to the effort.
High energy density conditions are found at extreme temperatures and pressures like those inside stars and during nuclear reactions. HED research can contribute to the security of the nation’s nuclear deterrent, among other achievements such as using extreme ultraviolet light to fabricate microchips, according to the report.
Air Force Brig. Gen. Stacy Huser, who currently serves as the principal assistant deputy administrator for Military Application at the National Nuclear Security Administration was recommended for a second star.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made the appointment on Wednesday, along with 22 other Air Force general officer promotions. The appointments must still be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
In her current assignment, Huser assists in maintaining the safety, security, and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. Prior to that she served as director of the Commander’s Action Group as U.S. Strategic Command, which oversees the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
Russia’s relations with the West have hit an all-time low, Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian prime minister and current deputy secretary of Russia’s Security Council, chaired by Vladimir Putin, said this week in video remarks to reporters.
As reported by the Times of Israel, Medvedev said the likelihood of nuclear conflict between Russia and the West has increased since Moscow’s all-out invasion of Ukraine a year ago.
“It hasn’t decreased, it has grown,” Medvedev said. “Every day when they provide Ukraine with foreign weapons brings the nuclear apocalypse closer.”
The Oak Ridge Enhanced Technology and Training Center (ORETTC) is on the cusp of employing new virtual training methods that allow employees to train for dangerous jobs with far less risk.
At the recent Extended Reality Symposium at the new Emergency Response Training Facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, experts from across the Nuclear Security Enterprise and industry converged to share ideas on technology training and digital transformation. The center featured an array of virtual reality and augmented reality tools.
Some virtual reality tools are already in use at the training center, such as haptic feedback gloves, which enable users to feel a virtual environment instead of just seeing it. More information on the various technologies demonstrated and how they might be implemented across the nuclear enterprise is available on the Y-12 website.
Armed forces in eastern Libya claim to have recovered two and a half tons of unenriched uranium ore reported missing by the International Atomic Energy Agency last week.
Ten drums containing the ore were found near the border with Chad, the BBC and other outlets reported, quoting a spokesperson for the armed group that allegedly found the ore. The IAEA said it is “actively working to verify” media reports.
The uranium that went missing could not be made into a nuclear weapon in its current state, but could be used as the raw material for a nuclear weapons programme, experts told the BBC.
North Korea claims it has developed an underwater drone that can carry a nuclear device that would cause a “radioactive tsunami” if detonated near an enemy’s shoreline. The claim was aired by state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), causing experts to urge skepticism, CNN reported.
Friday claimed to have tested an underwater drone capable of carrying a nuclear warhead that could create a “radioactive tsunami,” however, analysts urged skepticism noting a lack of proof.
