Los Alamos National Laboratory
Little Laser, Big Science
Composite image of Mars’s Mount Sharp, taken by the rover Curiosity, in September of 2015. This is the region where ChemCam, a Los Alamos elemental analyisis tool aboard Curiosity, recently collected samples that helped provide new insights into Mars’s past. CREDIT: NASA
Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a technique that reveals the presence and concentration of elements in a sample. Pioneered and perfected at Los Alamos, LIBS is virtually non-destructive, portable, adaptable, rapid, remote, and affordable—making it handy for a broad variety of applications. From improving energy- and food-security on Earth to exploring Mars and maybe someday Venus, LIBS is definitely doing big things in science.
December 2016
- An Ice Sheet’s Demise
- Little Laser, Big Science
- Driving Sustainability
- What Causes Cancer?
- Diverting Doomsday
- Sterile Neutrinos
- Aging Plutonium
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Operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC for the U.S. Dept. of Energy's NNSA | © Copyright 2016 LANS, LLC
Operated by Los Alamos National Security, LLC for the U.S.
Department of Energy's NNSA
© Copyright 2014-15 LANS, LLC