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History @ Los Alamos

World War II 

The Cold War 

  •   Photo of navy ships in a military maneuverWeapons
    • Hydrogen Bomb Development
  •   Photo of the mushroom cloud of the Hydrogen Bomb MikeTest: atmos.
  •   Scientific illustration of a fusion weapon in cross-sectionTest: under.
    • JULIN: The Last Test Series
  •   Photo of John F. Kennedy speaking at Los AlamosArms Control
    • Arms Control Treaties

Research 

  •   Photo of crater left as a result of an underground test at the Nevada Test SiteEnergy
    • Hot Dry Rock
  •   Image of gamma ray pulses detected by Vela satellites Defense
    • Stockpile Stewardship
    • Nonproliferation
  •   Image of a graphic chart reflecting the decrease in the nuclear weapons stockpileComputing
    • Supercomputing
  •   Photo of supercomputers used to simulate nuclear weapons testingBasic Science
    • Astrophysics

Stockpile Stewardship

The cessation of nuclear testing in 1992 created the need for a method of insuring both the safety and reliability of the nation's nuclear stockpile. Based on the scientific and technical capabilities of Los Alamos and the other national laboratories, the Department of Energy created the Stockpile Stewardship Program. As former Los Alamos Director Sig Hecker stated in 1995, "Reducing the nuclear danger stall calls for stewardship of the existing nuclear weapons stockpile: keeping those weapons that the nation needs safe, secure, and reliable"

Program Elements

The Department of Energy's stockpile stewardship program has three main elements: science, surveillance, and production. Science-based activities provide data to validate advanced nuclear weapons simulation codes. Surveillance activities use chemical, analytical, and material sciences to assess the aging of stockpile components. Production activities involve maintaining the nation's capacity to produce nuclear weapons components (to replace aging parts). As former Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson stated in 1999, "The stockpile stewardship program is a cornerstone of our national security."

Los Alamos Program

Los Alamos contributions to stockpile stewardship include the development of the Blue Mountain supercomputer (one of the world's fastest machines) and the computational methods it uses. Other initiatives include the production of replacement pits for the current stockpile and the completion of the Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility, which will provide high-resolution imaging for understanding weapon performance. As another former Los Alamos Director stated in 1999, "Maintaining the viability of the stockpile in the absence of nuclear testing is an enormously difficult challenge, but we are using very powerful tools today to certify the stockpile, and every day we are enhancing our stewardship tools with even more advanced capabilities."