FOIA: Los Alamos Science Spr/Win 1983 - Los Alamos research direction in the 1980's

CHALLENGES_AND_PROSPECTS.pdf
Los Alamos Science Spr/Win 1983 - Los Alamos research direction in the 1980's
The Winter/Spring 1983 copy of Los Alamos Science. Discussion of the Los Alamos laboratory research direction in the 1980's with references to past work.
Document date: 1983-12-31
Department: Los Alamos Laboratory
Author: Donald M. Kerr
Document type: report
pages: 22


Archivist's Notes: A good quality document.

reply to post by AboveTopSecret.com


Another document that involves Vela Project. Regarding the nuclear weapons the document specifies what Los Alamos can contribute with:

1- Encourage the modernization, where appropriate, of nuclear warheads to provide the best safety and security features technology can offer.

2-Assure the effectiveness of nuclear weapons over a wider range of operating conditions.

3-Improve the protection of warheads against newly developed electronic countermeasures designed to defeat our weapons.

4-Develop new means of making our weapons more effective against hardened targets in the Soviet Union.

5-Improve the techniques for defending our own strategic forces from a first strike.

6-Determine the feasibility of newer weapons, including those involving particle beams and lasers.

Moreover the document states that the advanced physical, theoretical, and computational capabilities of Los Alamos will contribute to a decade of imaginative and striking benefits in the areas of biomedical research, energy development, and environmental science.

The document deals also with another venture into the the realm of biology exploits our computing capability—the largest in the world—to compile and make available to the scientific community a library of genetic sequences. Los Alamos has recently been designated as the site of the national DNA
sequence data bank. This data bank will contribute significantly to
unraveling the mysteries of DNA.

The Laboratory has a major responsibility in developing secure alternative energy sources such as shale oil. Experimental shale retorts and advanced capabilities in cellular and genetic toxicology provide the opportunity to choose extraction and processing methods that produce the least harmful pollutants. This will involve using the advanced techniques described above to study the effect of pollutants on cells.

The Laboratory has devoted a substantial effort to energy programs during the past decade, and it is my hope that as these efforts reach maturity in the coming decade, they will bear technological fruit in the following forms.
Safety and engineering advances that will make nuclear power a more acceptable approach when the world turns again to this energy source, as I believe it eventually will.

1- Nuclear waste disposal techniques that will satisfy public concerns.

2-Techniques for extracting fossil fuels from the earth that will provide greater efficiency and worker safety and cause less pollution and environmental damage.

3-Practical fuel cells that will power many diverse activities, from transportation to materials production.

4-Geothermal projects that will tap the heat of the earth’s mantle to provide a clean and safe supply of heat and electricity.

5-Advances in renewable energy technologies that will allow for decentralized energy supplies so necessary in rural America and in many developing nations.

E great read indeed

reply to post by Telos


Telos covered this document very well.

It is indeed a very interesting read and I suggest all of you give it a look.

It certainly gives a perspective on the perceived importance of advanced weapons development and nuclear technology from the standpoint of Donald Kerr.


Now, if only they were so devoted to things that would benefit ALL of us.


Jasn


EDIT TO ADD: After reading this, the doubts I had in regards to reports of advanced weaponry such as microwave weapons and others being used in Iraq have dwindled a bit.

[edit on 30-11-2007 by SimiusDei]

reply to post by SimiusDei


Actually I think there is more to Project Vela then it seams. I found this name in an incredible number of other projects related or not. It must be very important considering the extent.