Wednesday - March 22, 2006

Abigail Quandt, head of book and paper conservation at The Walters Art Museum, holds one of the pages thought to conceal Archimedes' The Method.

Archimedes Returns to SSRL

by Heather Rock Woods

For two weeks this month, an x-ray beam at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory illuminated a 1,000-year-old manuscript that conceals the work of ancient mathematical genius Archimedes.

Pages of the manuscript first came to experimental station 6-2 at SSRL in May 2005. At that time, a research team of museum curators, x-ray scientists and an ancient mathematics historian showed it was possible to read obscured layers of text and graphics by shining x-ray light specifically tuned to make the iron pigment in the ink fluoresce.  This month, the same team studied additional pages of the Archimedes manuscript to reveal more of the ancient text.

The manuscript is called a palimpsest because the original text—a 10th century copy of Archimedes' 3rd century B.C. treatises—was scrubbed nearly clean and written over with a religious text in the 13th century. Modern forgers added to the layers by painting over both texts with religious scenes on at least five pages. But faint traces of the 10th century ink remain embedded in the goat-skin parchment.

A preservation team from The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore brought seven of the most difficult pages, including the very first page of the manuscript, to SLAC several weeks ago.  Read more...

SLAC Bridge Group Welcomes New Players

by Linda White

Interested in playing bridge during your lunch hour? A group that formed around 20 years ago is looking for players. People who play at any level, from beginning to advanced, are more than welcome. If you want to learn how to play, the group is willing to teach you. It's an informal group with a lot of kibitzing. Running scores are not kept and for every game, cards are drawn to determine partners so you always play with someone different.

All of the original bridge players except for David G. Brown of Controls and Power Electronics have retired over the years. Retiree Sam Howry stops by to play from time to time, and new players have joined via word of mouth.

"It's fine to come watch a game to see if you're interested," Brown says, "There's plenty of room." Contact either Brown (x2175) or David Aston (x2457) to find out when they play next. The group meets from 12:00-1:00 p.m. once or twice a week in the Bldg. 34 conference room.

Kavli Building Dedication Photos Available Online

To see more photos from the Kavli Building dedication, please visit SLAC's photo archive.  Once there, click on "Special Events" in the left navigation bar, followed by "2006 - January to June" and "Kavli Building Dedication." All photos courtesy of Diana Rogers.

Field Management Council Meeting Today and Tomorrow

The SLAC Department of Energy (DOE) Site Office hosts the annual meeting of the Field Management Council this Wednesday and Thursday.

While here, the heads of all DOE site offices will meet Under Secretary for Energy David Garman and tour SLAC.

OSTI Introduces New Search Tool for Researchers

by Cathey Daniels, Office of Scientific and Technical Information

DOE researchers can now access approximately four million bibliographic records and over 140,000 full-text documents spanning more than six decades of DOE research through the Science Research Connection (SRC) at www.osti.gov/src. SRC was developed by the DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI) exclusively for the DOE community and is intended for scientists and information specialists as a way to enhance research on behalf of DOE. SRC requires registration, and access is free of charge.  Read more...

Events (see all | submit)

• Mar 23: (4:00 p.m.) Accelerator Seminar: "Status of the SuperB Effort"
• Mar 23: (4:15 p.m.) ACKS Seminar - Andrey Kravtsov

Announcements
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 Lab Announcements

• New Conference Attendance Guidelines
• CERN-Fermilab Hadron Collider Physics Summer School

Community Bulletin Board

• Spring 2006 Workshop - "A Parent's Guide to Internet Awareness & Safety"
• Walk for Wellness: A SLAC Medical Wellness Class
• Free Electronic Recycling
• Come to Nina's Retirement Party!!

News (see all)

• Polar neutrino observatory takes a big step forward  EurekAlert
• Photon detector is precursor to broadband in space  New Scientist
• Geomagnetic flip may not be random after all  PhysicsWeb
• Spitzer Sees 9 Billion Years Back in Time  PhysOrg

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What's Cookin' at the Linear Cafe (see weekly menu)

Wednesday
Breakfast Boosters	Huevos Rancheros, Rice, Refried Beans, Chorizo, Salsa and Sour Cream	$4.73
Hot	Egg Drop Soup or Broccoli and Cheese Soup	$2.35/$2.95
Taste	Regular/Super Beef or Chicken Burrito	$5.65/$5.95
Good Food For You	Fettuccine Alfredo Primavera or Marinara with Garlic Bread and Fresh Parmesan	$5.45
Tossed	Chinese Chicken Salad with Rice Noodles	$5.45
Panini	Crab Salad, Tomato and Dill Mayonnaise on Sweet French Baguette	$5.65
Sandwich Favorite	Reuben Sandwich	$4.99