In 1996, the U.S. signed the United Nations Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, banning live nuclear weapons tests.

The Department of Energy instead turned to computer simulations and laboratory experiments to evaluate its stockpile, and established the Institute for Shock Physics at Washington State University to support these efforts.

This “is very basic science associated with what happens to matter when it’s compressed under very high pressures,” said Christopher Keane, the university’s vice president for research and a professor of physics.

This research, funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration, has contributed to certification of “the nuclear stockpile components over 25 years without nuclear testing,” Keane said. “It’s a tremendous technical achievement.”

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Spokane Public Radio

Our sun may be one of the billions of stars in the galaxy, but it’s the only star right here in our solar system. It keeps us warm and gives us light, which is important for all kinds of living things on our planet.

To find out more about how stars like our sun form, I talked to my friend Jose Vazquez, an astronomer at Washington State University.

“It’s kind of like when you make bread, tortillas or cookies,” Vazquez said. “Even though they are all different products, they often require the same basic ingredients and a good mix.”

When the protostar reaches just the right temperature, a reaction called nuclear fusion begins in its core. The fusion of certain gases, such as hydrogen, can release a lot of energy which powers the heat and light of the star for a long time.

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Ask Dr. Universe

Currently researchers have to rely on attaching fluorescent dyes or heavy metals to label parts of organic nanocarrier structures for investigation, often changing them in the process. A new technique using chemically-sensitive “soft” X-rays offers a simpler, non-disruptive way of gaining insight into this nano-world. In a study published by Nature Communications, a research team demonstrates the capability of the X-ray method on a smart drug delivery nanoparticle and a polysoap nanostructure intended to capture crude oil spilled in the ocean.

“We have developed a new technique to look at nanocarrier internal structure, chemistry and environmental behavior without any labeling at all – a new capability that up to now has not been possible,” said Brian Collins, a Washington State University physicist and corresponding author on the study. “Currently, you need fluorescent tags to see inside nanocarriers, but this can modify their structure and behavior, especially if they’re made out of carbon-based materials. With this new technique, we’ve been able to look inside these nanocarriers, analyze their chemical identities and concentrations – and do this all in their fully natural state, including their water environment.”

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Healthcare In Europe
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