Tuesday - September 30, 2008
SLAC Today is available online at:
http://today.slac.stanford.edu
In this issue:
Safe '08: BaBar Shield Wall
Safety Today: Diet Myths from the NIH
UK Science Council to Collaborate on LCLS
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Tuesday - September 30, 2008 |
 SLAC riggers and BaBar engineers gather in the detector hall where the 27-foot high concrete wall once towered. Clockwise from left: Jim Krebs, Karl Bouldin, Sandy Pierson, Ray Rodriguez, Will Anderson and Scot Johnson. (Photo by Brad Plummer. Click for larger image.)
Safe '08: BaBar Shield WallPiece by 16-ton piece, SLAC riggers and BaBar engineers dismantled a 27-foot high, 450-ton cement wall. The massive structure served as the radiation shielding wall for the BaBar detector and has been constructed and destructed many times since the detector was put in place. Through careful work planning and control, the team took all necessary precautions and maintained constant safety awareness. They completed the task with no injuries or accidents. To bring down the towering structure, the crew had to lift and remove 28 16-ton blocks, each the length and width of a pickup truck but about three times the weight. Nine smaller 1.5-ton blocks also had to be removed from the cavernous BaBar detector hall. Project Chief Engineer Jim Krebs and more than half the team have participated in previous deconstructions. "We've done this job before, but we don't get complacent," he says. "We still pay close attention to safety issues." Before work began, Particle Physics and Astrophysics safety coordinators analyzed the hazards for the two riggers who would climb on top of the wall and secure the cement blocks to the overhead crane. "This was really the number one safety issue," says Krebs. These hazards, and the established controls to mitigate them, were written down and discussed in an Elevated Surface Work Plan. Read more... |
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Diet Myths from the NIH
Myth: Lifting weights is not good to do if you want to lose weight, because it will make you "bulk up." Fact: Lifting weights or doing strengthening activities like push-ups and crunches on a regular basis can actually help you maintain or lose weight. These activities can help you build muscle, and muscle burns more calories than body fat. So if you have more muscle, you burn more calories—even sitting still. Doing strengthening activities 2 or 3 days a week will not "bulk you up." Only intense strength training, combined with a certain genetic background, can build very large muscles. Tip: In addition to doing at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity (like walking 2 miles in 30 minutes) on most days of the week, try to do strengthening activities 2 to 3 days a week. You can lift weights, use large rubber bands (resistance bands), do push-ups or sit-ups, or do household or garden tasks that make you lift or dig. Myth: Eating after 8 p.m. causes weight gain. Fact: It does not matter what time of day you eat. It is what and how much you eat and how much physical activity you do during the whole day that determines whether you gain, lose, or maintain your weight. No matter when you eat, your body will store extra calories as fat. Tip: If you want to have a snack before bedtime, think first about how many calories you have eaten that day. And try to avoid snacking in front of the TV at night—it may be easier to overeat when you are distracted by the television. Read more diet myths on the NIDDK Web site. |
UK Science Council to Collaborate on LCLS
The United Kingdom's Science and Technology Facilities Council, or STFC, announced yesterday its intention to collaborate with the SLAC on the construction of the Linac Coherent Light Source, slated to begin operations in 2009. SLAC hosted a visit from a delegation of UK scientists, including Chief Scientist for the STFC Photon Science Research Institute Justin Wark and Professor John Beddington, the UK government's chief scientific adviser and head of the Government Office for Science, for meetings and a tour of the LCLS. Beddington, Stanford Vice President for SLAC Bill Madia and SLAC Director Persis Drell signed a memorandum of understanding to mark the UK's interest in the LCLS. STFC has agreed to contribute to the construction of an end-station of the LCLS, designed to look at matter under extreme conditions, such as material at very high or low temperatures and densities similar to those found in the interior of large planets. Acting Associate Laboratory Director for LCLS Dale Knutson said, "SLAC is very excited to have STFC as a partner in this effort. Its contributions will enable outstanding science from the LCLS."
Read more about the agreement in the Science and Technology Facilities Council press release. |
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