The oldest plutonium is about to turn 66, but is hardly ready for retirement. Because plutonium aging is a matter of great scientific interest and an important aspect of national security, Los Alamos, along with other sites in the Department of Energy complex, began seriously studying the issue a few years ago.
Laboratory Fellow Albert Migliori, deputy director of the Glenn T. Seaborg Institute for Transactinium Science and acting center leader of Los Alamos' National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (MST-NHMFL), will present a classified colloquium on emerging data from plutonium aging research at 1:10 p.m., Wednesday in the Administration Building Auditorium at Technical Area 3.
The colloquium is restricted to Q-cleared employees only with sigmas 1-10. No foreign nationals may attend.
Migliori's talk, "How Gracefully does Plutonium Age?" will focus on the effects that threaten the integrity of the inherently unstable metal. Migliori will discuss the potential worries in plutonium aging and possible steps forward.
Migliori joined the Laboratory in 1973, as a fellow of the American Physical Society, co-discoverer of acoustic heat engines and the leading expert in the use of resonant ultrasound spectroscopy.
For information about the classified Director's Colloquium series, go to http://stbblue.lanl.gov/colloquium/ online.
