Tag: nuclear forensics

Hands in the Glove Box

sarah JonasResearch Results

An international collaboration to protect the world from nuclear threats got a boost in 2023 when a visiting researcher brought an understudied plutonium processing chemistry method to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for hands-on research. “It’s not trivial to bring an outside researcher to PNNL and get them working in a glove box,” said PNNL nuclear forensics scientist and technical group leader Dave Meier.

Nuclear forensics training — it’s a dirty job

sarah JonasFeature

Although the likelihood of a terrorist nuclear attack is extremely low, a lot of work is required to prepare for such an unthinkable event. That’s why a response team assembled by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) recently trained in eastern Idaho’s desert on ways to collect and analyze simulated debris from a nuclear detonation. Nuclear forensics—the science of determining the origin of nuclear material—is an essential element of the United States’ strategy to prevent nuclear terrorism.

Confirming the pedigree of uranium cubes from Nazi Germany’s failed nuclear program

sarah JonasResearch Results

Before the Nazis could develop nuclear technology, Allied forces captured the uranium cubes central to Germany’s research. The fate of most is unknown, but a few are thought to be in the U.S. Scientists developing methods to confirm the cubes’ provenance will present their results at ACS Fall 2021.

Scientists pioneer new generation of semiconductor neutron detector

sarah JonasResearch Results

In a new study, scientists have developed a new type of semiconductor neutron detector that boosts detection rates by reducing the number of steps involved in neutron capture and transduction.