Lawrence Livermore Labs Field Trip

April, 2006

We began our trip in the dark at 6:00 AM. Thanks to the LLNL double booking error, we ended up with a beautiful sunny Thursday instead of the rainy Tuesday as was originally scheduled. Morey was not alert and we missed the scheduled "Flying J Truck Stop" morning rest stop and had to use a "Jack in the Box." Traffic was not bad and we got to LLNL on a little early and could spend some time in the Discovery Center learning about LLNL through there science displays. We then visited the National Atmospheric Release Advisory Center where we observed their state-of-the-art atmospheric tracking capabilities and learned how they contributed to tracking the nuclear release from Chernobyl.  At the Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry we saw how they used the equipment for Carbon 14 dating to determine the age of old artifacts and other things. In the National Ignition Center we saw how they generated and amplified laser beams with which they hope to ignite atomic fusion reactors for power generation and other uses. Finally we saw some large fast computers and the place where the worlds fastest computer (IBM not a Cray) will reside. We had lunch in a beautiful setting at Poppy Ridge Golf Course. All that green against the California "Gold" Hills and a pretty building also. Most enjoyed the meal.  Morey managed to find the "Flying J" on the way home and a lot of ice cream was eaten there. We got back about 4:00 PM. happy and wiser about LLNL's contribution to science and our national security.        Morey Lewis

 

 

Photos by Morey Lewis