From the Director: "Pause" 2010

(Photo by Harvey Lynch.)

by Persis Drell

In August, all of us at SLAC, in our different work groups, took time out to reflect on both successes and ways to improve the conduct of our operations and communication throughout the lab. Work groups across the lab identified ways to improve things under their control, and also identified things that the directorate and lab as a whole should address. The associate laboratory directors and I appreciate everyone’s thoughtful consideration of issues and solutions that will ultimately support us all in delivering on our mission.

Reminder:
All-Hands Safety and Security Fair Today

These SLAC water bottles are among the giveaways for attendees of today's Safety and Security Fair. (Image by Scott Mangold.)

by Terry McMahon

Everyone in the SLAC community is asked to attend one of three 70-minute sessions for the Annual Safety and Security Fair, held today in SLAC's Panofsky Auditorium and also broadcast live in the Kavli Auditorium. There will be free SLAC water bottles, calendars, pens and other giveaways after each session for those who attend.

Word of the Week: Star

In this artist's impression of the central engine of a gamma-ray burst, a powerful jet of radiation and fast-moving particles blasts its way out of the central region of a dying star. (Image courtesy of NASA / SkyWorks Digital.)

by Catherine Meyers

A star is a massive body of hot gases that radiates energy generated by the fusion reactions inside its core. Scientists classify stars based on their color and size. Stars can be modeled as "blackbody" emitters, which means that the color of light a star radiates can be used to determine its temperature. Blue stars are the hottest (surface temperatures of 20,000 to 35,000K), while red stars are the coolest (surface temperatures under 3,500 K). Stars are also named based on their sizes. Supergiants can have diameters that are several hundred times the diameter of Earth's sun. Our own sun is a middle-aged yellow dwarf star. Brown dwarfs are celestial objects that are sometimes called failed stars. They are too big to be planets, but have too little mass to sustain hydrogen fusion.

Events

Today (8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 3:15 p.m.) 2010 All Hands Safety and Security Fair
Today (12:30 p.m.) Theory Seminar: Cosmic Ray Propagation Time Scales

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Flu Shots Available Thursdays 1:30-3:30 p.m.

Community Bulletin Board

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Calendar
Registration

Today (9:00 a.m.) Haz Waste Management Refresher

News (submit)

Earth-Sized Planets Common throughout Our Galaxy, NASA Survey Suggests Science Daily
Coming Soon: LHC for Molecules New Scientist
How to Hunt for Hidden Photons The Physics arXiv Blog

<% Response.AddHeader "Last-modified", getArticleDate() 'Response.AddHeader "Last-modified","Mon, 01 Sep 1997 01:03:33 GMT" 'Monday, December 06, 2010 %>

View online at http://today.slac.stanford.edu/.

From the Director: "Pause" 2010 (Photo by Harvey Lynch.) by Persis Drell In August, all of us at SLAC, in our different work groups, took time out to reflect on both successes and ways to improve the conduct of our operations and communication throughout the lab. Work groups across the lab identified ways to improve things under their control, and also identified things that the directorate and lab as a whole should address. The associate laboratory directors and I appreciate everyone’s thoughtful consideration of issues and solutions that will ultimately support us all in delivering on our mission. Read more... Reminder: All-Hands Safety and Security Fair Today These SLAC water bottles are among the giveaways for attendees of today's Safety and Security Fair. (Image by Scott Mangold.) by Terry McMahon Everyone in the SLAC community is asked to attend one of three 70-minute sessions for the Annual Safety and Security Fair, held today in SLAC's Panofsky Auditorium and also broadcast live in the Kavli Auditorium. There will be free SLAC water bottles, calendars, pens and other giveaways after each session for those who attend. Read more... Word of the Week: Star In this artist's impression of the central engine of a gamma-ray burst, a powerful jet of radiation and fast-moving particles blasts its way out of the central region of a dying star. (Image courtesy of NASA / SkyWorks Digital.) by Catherine Meyers A star is a massive body of hot gases that radiates energy generated by the fusion reactions inside its core. Scientists classify stars based on their color and size. Stars can be modeled as "blackbody" emitters, which means that the color of light a star radiates can be used to determine its temperature. Blue stars are the hottest (surface temperatures of 20,000 to 35,000K), while red stars are the coolest (surface temperatures under 3,500 K). Stars are also named based on their sizes. Supergiants can have diameters that are several hundred times the diameter of Earth's sun. Our own sun is a middle-aged yellow dwarf star. Brown dwarfs are celestial objects that are sometimes called failed stars. They are too big to be planets, but have too little mass to sustain hydrogen fusion.	Events Today (8:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 3:15 p.m.) 2010 All Hands Safety and Security Fair Today (12:30 p.m.) Theory Seminar: Cosmic Ray Propagation Time Scales Access (see all) South Linac Access Road Closed at Sector 19 Construction near B40, B84 Parking Lot A Closures RSB Project Info and Updates Announcements (see all \| submit) Lab Announcements Flu Shots Available Thursdays 1:30-3:30 p.m. Community Bulletin Board Global Peace - Global Joy - Global Talent SLAC Run and Walk Nov 18 Training (see all \| register) Lab Training Calendar Registration Today (9:00 a.m.) Haz Waste Management Refresher News (submit) Earth-Sized Planets Common throughout Our Galaxy, NASA Survey Suggests Science Daily Coming Soon: LHC for Molecules New Scientist How to Hunt for Hidden Photons The Physics arXiv Blog
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	Friday - October 29, 2010