A Science to Art, an Art to Science

An Attic black-figured amphora, currently in the British Museum, of the type that will be studied here at SLAC. (Photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen.)

by Lori Ann White

What do lithium ion batteries and 2500-year-old Greek pottery have in common?

One answer is surfaces. And surfaces are where chemistry happens.

SSRL staff scientist Apurva Mehta is careful to emphasize the plural—surfaces. Often, many, differing surfaces exist on one sample, which means a variety of chemical reactions can occur on one material. According to Mehta, such material is "hierarchically heterogeneous." In other words, it displays different behaviors depending on the size scale.

"There's a whole class of materials with structure at all different levels," Mehta explained," and something happening at every level that's important." He offered soil as an example. "Soil has large rocks, small rocks, porosities. Depending on the size of the soil particles, contamination in groundwater trickling through that soil moves at different rates, reacts at different rates, and reacts with different materials." For scientists to understand what happens in total, Mehta said, they have to know what happens at all levels, on all surfaces. Read more...

Click to view the event flyer.

Resource Fair to Highlight Stanford Staff Programs, Services and Facilities

by Shawne Workman

Stanford's Human Resources Department will host a Staff Resource Fair on Thursday, March 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Tresidder Student Union, Oak Lounge, as part of the Onboarding @ Stanford program. The fair is intended for all staff members, and will be especially useful for new employees who may not be aware of the richness and sheer volume of services, facilities, programs and plans available to them.

Exhibitors at the fair will include Stanford BeWell, Health Improvement Program (HIP), Payroll, the Stanford Bookstore, Stanford Federal Credit Union and many more. The event is free. Registration is not required, but staff who pre-register by March 14 using STARS in Axess and confirm their attendance at the Fair will be entered into prize drawings. To register, log in to Axess using your SUnet ID, click the STARS (Training) tab, and enter the following course code in the Search Catalog field: TOD-1225.

Symmetry Looks at the Practical Side of Particle Physics

by Glennda Chui

The February 2011 issue of Symmetry magazine is now online. (Image: Sandbox Studios.)

You might wonder: What does the dripping faucet on the cover of our February issue have to do with particle physics? The answer: accelerator technology. Invented for high-energy physics experiments, it's been adopted for many uses in medicine and industry, and purifying waste water is one of them. But there are a lot of obstacles along the way to commercializing these applications; our lead feature explores ways to get around this "Valley of Death" between the lab bench and the market.

Also in this issue:

Why the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope—which will plumb a bigger volume of sky than any previous survey, plus generate more data than all previous telescopes combined—requires the expertise of particle physicists
Whether the folks who build huge accelerators can make those efforts truly international from the get-go
Stunning images from the first Global Particle Physics Photowalk
"Cosmic Gall"—John Updike's ode to the neutrino—deconstructed
The OPERA experiment at Italy's Gran Sasso National Laboratory records its first tau neutrino—long-sought evidence of neutrino oscillation

Plus commentary, Explain it in 60 Seconds environmentally friendly food packaging (yep, it also has a particle physics connection), monkeys, whale talk, samurai swords and more. Here's a link to the full PDF; go here to sign up for a free subscription or get e-mail notification of future issues.

Events

Today (12:30 p.m.) Experimental Seminar: Quest for the Higgs Boson--Last Round LHC?
Today (4:00 p.m.) Invited Accelerator Seminar: Relativistic Ultrafast Electron Diffraction...

Access

Announcements

Lab Announcements

ISO 9001 Standard Available Online

Community Bulletin Board

Training

Lab Training

Calendar
Registration

Today (8:00 a.m.) Electrical Equipment Inspection Training
Today (8:00 a.m.)
CPR/First Aid- Recertification
Today (8:00 a.m.)
New Employee Orientation
Today (10:00 a.m.)
Rad Worker Practical

Upcoming Workshops & Classes

Mar 15 (1:00 p.m.) Project Management II, Session One
Mar 29 (8:30 a.m.) Project Management II, Session Two

News

Adaptive Optics: Light Microscope with 50-nanometre Resolution Demonstrated BBC News
Spin-Orbit Coupling Demonstrated in Atomic Gasses Physorg
ScienceShot: The Mystery of the Absent Sunspots ScienceNOW

<% 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/.

A Science to Art, an Art to Science An Attic black-figured amphora, currently in the British Museum, of the type that will be studied here at SLAC. (Photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen.) by Lori Ann White What do lithium ion batteries and 2500-year-old Greek pottery have in common? One answer is surfaces. And surfaces are where chemistry happens. SSRL staff scientist Apurva Mehta is careful to emphasize the plural—surfaces. Often, many, differing surfaces exist on one sample, which means a variety of chemical reactions can occur on one material. According to Mehta, such material is "hierarchically heterogeneous." In other words, it displays different behaviors depending on the size scale. "There's a whole class of materials with structure at all different levels," Mehta explained," and something happening at every level that's important." He offered soil as an example. "Soil has large rocks, small rocks, porosities. Depending on the size of the soil particles, contamination in groundwater trickling through that soil moves at different rates, reacts at different rates, and reacts with different materials." For scientists to understand what happens in total, Mehta said, they have to know what happens at all levels, on all surfaces. Read more... Click to view the event flyer. Resource Fair to Highlight Stanford Staff Programs, Services and Facilities by Shawne Workman Stanford's Human Resources Department will host a Staff Resource Fair on Thursday, March 17, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Tresidder Student Union, Oak Lounge, as part of the Onboarding @ Stanford program. The fair is intended for all staff members, and will be especially useful for new employees who may not be aware of the richness and sheer volume of services, facilities, programs and plans available to them. Exhibitors at the fair will include Stanford BeWell, Health Improvement Program (HIP), Payroll, the Stanford Bookstore, Stanford Federal Credit Union and many more. The event is free. Registration is not required, but staff who pre-register by March 14 using STARS in Axess and confirm their attendance at the Fair will be entered into prize drawings. To register, log in to Axess using your SUnet ID, click the STARS (Training) tab, and enter the following course code in the Search Catalog field: TOD-1225. Symmetry Looks at the Practical Side of Particle Physics by Glennda Chui The February 2011 issue of Symmetry magazine is now online. (Image: Sandbox Studios.) You might wonder: What does the dripping faucet on the cover of our February issue have to do with particle physics? The answer: accelerator technology. Invented for high-energy physics experiments, it's been adopted for many uses in medicine and industry, and purifying waste water is one of them. But there are a lot of obstacles along the way to commercializing these applications; our lead feature explores ways to get around this "Valley of Death" between the lab bench and the market. Also in this issue: Why the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope—which will plumb a bigger volume of sky than any previous survey, plus generate more data than all previous telescopes combined—requires the expertise of particle physicists Whether the folks who build huge accelerators can make those efforts truly international from the get-go Stunning images from the first Global Particle Physics Photowalk "Cosmic Gall"—John Updike's ode to the neutrino—deconstructed The OPERA experiment at Italy's Gran Sasso National Laboratory records its first tau neutrino—long-sought evidence of neutrino oscillation Plus commentary, Explain it in 60 Seconds environmentally friendly food packaging (yep, it also has a particle physics connection), monkeys, whale talk, samurai swords and more. Here's a link to the full PDF; go here to sign up for a free subscription or get e-mail notification of future issues.	Events Today (12:30 p.m.) Experimental Seminar: Quest for the Higgs Boson--Last Round LHC? Today (4:00 p.m.) Invited Accelerator Seminar: Relativistic Ultrafast Electron Diffraction... Access Bldg. 28 Renovation Start Loop Road Construction Driveway Access at Bldgs. 28, 26 Parking Lot A Construction RSB Project Info and Updates Announcements Lab Announcements ISO 9001 Standard Available Online Community Bulletin Board In Memory of Jimmie Graham BeWell Unwind Event Mar 10 Marguerite Route Changes Mar 1 Training Lab Training Calendar Registration Today (8:00 a.m.) Electrical Equipment Inspection Training Today (8:00 a.m.) CPR/First Aid- Recertification Today (8:00 a.m.) New Employee Orientation Today (10:00 a.m.) Rad Worker Practical Upcoming Workshops & Classes Mar 15 (1:00 p.m.) Project Management II, Session One Mar 29 (8:30 a.m.) Project Management II, Session Two News Adaptive Optics: Light Microscope with 50-nanometre Resolution Demonstrated BBC News Spin-Orbit Coupling Demonstrated in Atomic Gasses Physorg ScienceShot: The Mystery of the Absent Sunspots ScienceNOW
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<% 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/.