Proceedings of the International Conference on The Nucleus: New Physics for the New Millennium, held January 18-22, 1999, at the National Accelerator Centre, Faure, South Africa
In the fall of 2010, the Office of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Secretary for Science asked for a National Research Council (NRC) committee to investigate the prospects for generating power using inertial confinement fusion (ICF) concepts, acknowledging that a key test of viability for this concept-ignition -could be demonstrated at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in the relatively near term. The committee was asked to provide an unclassified report. However, DOE indicated that to fully assess this topic, the committee's deliberations would have to be informed by the results of some classified experiments and information, particularly in the area of ICF targets and nonproliferation. Thus, the Panel on the Assessment of Inertial Confinement Fusion Targets ("the panel") was assembled, composed of experts able to access the needed information. The panel was charged with advising the Committee on the Prospects for Inertial Confinement Fusion Energy Systems on these issues, both by internal discussion and by this unclassified report. A Panel on Fusion Target Physics ("the panel") will serve as a technical resource to the Committee on Inertial Confinement Energy Systems ("the Committee") and will prepare a report that describes the R&D challenges to providing suitable targets, on the basis of parameters established and provided to the Panel by the Committee. The Panel on Fusion Target Physics will prepare a report that will assess the current performance of fusion targets associated with various ICF concepts in order to understand: 1. The spectrum output; 2. The illumination geometry; 3. The high-gain geometry; and 4. The robustness of the target design. The panel addressed the potential impacts of the use and development of current concepts for Inertial Fusion Energy on the proliferation of nuclear weapons information and technology, as appropriate. The Panel examined technology options, but does not provide recommendations specific to any currently operating or proposed ICF facility.
From Nucleons to Nucleus deals with single-particle and collective features of spherical nuclei. Each nuclear model is introduced and derived in detail. The formalism is then applied to light and medium-heavy nuclei in worked-out examples, and finally the acquired skills are strengthened by a wide selection of exercises, many relating the models to experimental data. Nuclear properties are discussed using particles, holes and quasi-particles. From Nucleons to Nucleus is based on lectures on nuclear physics given by the author, and serves well as a textbook for advanced students. Researchers too will appreciate it as a well-balanced reference to theoretical nuclear physics.
Modern neuroscience research is inherently multidisciplinary, with a wide variety of cutting edge new techniques to explore multiple levels of investigation. This Third Edition of Guide to Research Techniques in Neuroscience provides a comprehensive overview of classical and cutting edge methods including their utility, limitations, and how data are presented in the literature. This book can be used as an introduction to neuroscience techniques for anyone new to the field or as a reference for any neuroscientist while reading papers or attending talks. - Nearly 200 updated full-color illustrations to clearly convey the theory and practice of neuroscience methods - Expands on techniques from previous editions and covers many new techniques including in vivo calcium imaging, fiber photometry, RNA-Seq, brain spheroids, CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing, and more - Clear, straightforward explanations of each technique for anyone new to the field - A broad scope of methods, from noninvasive brain imaging in human subjects, to electrophysiology in animal models, to recombinant DNA technology in test tubes, to transfection of neurons in cell culture - Detailed recommendations on where to find protocols and other resources for specific techniques - "Walk-through" boxes that guide readers through experiments step-by-step
The study of intermolecular forces began over one hundred years ago in 1873 with the famous thesis of van der Waals. In recent decades, knowledge of this field has expanded due to intensive research into both its theoretical and the experimental aspects. This is particularly true for the type of very strong cohesive force stressed in 1920 by Latimer and Rodebush: the hydrogen bond, a phenomenon already outlined in 1912 by Moore and Winemill. Hydrogen bonds exert a profound influence on most of the physical and chemical properties of the materials in which they are formed. Not only do they govern viscosity and electrical conductivity, they also intervene in the chemical reaction path which determines the kinetics of chemical processes. The properties of chemical substances depend to a large extent on intermolecular forces. In spite of this fundamental fact, too little attention is given to these properties both in research and in university teaching. For instance, in the field of pharmaceutical research, about 13000 compounds need to be studied in order to find a single new product that can be successfully marketed. The recognition of the need to optimize industrial research efficiency has led to a growing interest in promoting the study of inter molecular forces. Rising salary costs in industry have encou raged an interest in theoretical ideas which will lead to tailor made materials.
Neutrino physics contributed in an fundamental way to the progress of science, opening important windows of knowledge in elementary particle physics, as well in astrophysics and cosmology. Substantial experimental efforts are presently dedicated to improve our knowledge on neutrino properties as, in fact, we don't know yet some of the basic ones. Although very significant steps forward have been done, neutrino masses and mixings still remain largely unknown and constitute an important field for future research. Are neutrinos Majorana or Dirac particles? Have they a magnetic moment? Historically, studies on weak processes and, therefore, on neutrino physics, provided first the Fermi theory of weak interactions and then the V-A theory. Finally, the observation of weak neutral currents provided the first experimental evidence for unification of weak and electromagnetic interactions by the so called "Standard Model' of elementary particles. In addition to the results obtained from the measurement of the solar neutrino flux, the study of atmospheric neutrinos strongly supports the hypothesis of neutrino oscillation among different flavours. At the same time, the detection of neutrinos emitted by our Sun gave an important confirmation that the Sun produces energy via a chain of nuclear reactions; in particular in our Sun a specific cycle - the hydrogen cycle - is responsible for practically all the produced energy.
The increased demand on fossil fuels for energy production has resulted in expanded research and development efforts on direct use of fossil fuels and conversion of fossil fuels into synthetic fuels. These efforts have focused on the efficiency of the energy production and/or conversion processes, and of the emission control technology, as well as delineation of the health and environmental impacts of those processes and their by-products. A key ingredient of these studies is the analytical capability necessary to identify and quan tify those chemicals of interest in the process and by-produce streams from coal combustion, oil shale retorting, petroleum refin ing, coal l1quifaction and gasification. These capabilities are needed to analyze a formidable range of materials including liquids, solids, gases and aerosols containing large numbers of criteria and pollutants including potentially hazardous polynuclear aromatic hy drocarbons, organo-sulfur and organo-nitrogen species, trace elements and heavy metals, among others. Taking notice of these developments we sought to provide a forum to discuss the latest information on new and novel applica tions of a subset of those necessary analytical capabilities, namely atomic and nuclear techniques. Consequently, we organized the con ference on Atomic and Nuclear Methods in Fossil Fuel Energy Research, which was held in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico from December 1 to December 4, 1980."