Los Alamos National Laboratory September Tip Sheet
BED OF NOISE PROTECTS SECRET DATA
Los Alamos researchers have patented a new software technique that prevents pirating of copyrighted information and unauthorized manipulation of digital images, and allows storage and open transmission of hidden data. The "data embedding" technique uses the electronic "noise" associated with images and other data as space to store additional information, without increasing the size of the host document. The technique could be used to protect intellectual property rights of digital information with unique "watermarks" that identify illegally copied software or CD recordings; to embed a patient's confidential medical history in electronic X-rays or other records; or to send digitized military maps over open communication lines with embedded information about targets and other secret information. One potential application under development is to improve security by embedding photo identification cards with positive biometric identifiers such as iris scans or infrared thermograms of a person's face. The "C" programming language software package conforms to virtually any digital-storage medium; additional patents are pending, and the developers are seeking a commercial partner. Jim Danneskiold, 505-667-1640, [email protected]
A MAJOR MAGNET MILESTONE
A new research magnet at Los Alamos produces a pulse 1.2 million times stronger than Earth's magnetic field for a tenth of a second -- stronger and longer than any magnet of its kind in the world. The multi-ton magnet consists of nine nested coils, a design that enables quick cooling and allows researchers to reuse the magnet in less than an hour after a pulse that is powered by a 1.4 billion-watt electrical generator recycled from a canceled nuclear power station. Part of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, the 60-tesla magnet serves as a research tool that reveals much about the behavior of electrons in materials and their electrical properties. The new magnet will help researchers improve semiconductors, the heart of modern electronics, and develop better superconducting materials that could lead, for example, to lightweight electric motors. And high magnetic fields are important to nuclear magnetic resonance, the basis for medical CAT scans. Gary Kliewer, (505) 665-2085, [email protected]
CASTING CALLS FOR MODELS
Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory are developing a computer model that ultimately may help industry personnel cast better metal-alloy components. The model, called Telluride, can simulate the flows of multiple, distinct fluids. Consequently, Los Alamos researchers are using the model to simulate how fluids such as molten metals behave during the casting process -- a complicated interplay between the molten metal, the casting vessel and the metal itself as it begins to solidify. The model can help researchers determine the best way to quench the material to prevent imperfections. In some commercial casting applications, as many as 50 percent of casts suffer unacceptable flaws and must be remelted and recast. The Los Alamos model could help reduce the failure rate. Researchers are using the Blue Mountain supercomputer -- part of the nation"¢s Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative -- to create the model, which they expect to be complete in the next two years. Ultimately the researchers hope to create a model suitable for industry that can be run on a desktop computer work station. James E. Rickman, (505) 665-9203, [email protected]
For assistance call 505-667-7000 09/97
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