Subj:	 Press Releases form Los Alamos ......
Date:	9/20/99 11:38:09 AM Pacific Daylight Time
Hi Kent,
Thought you may wish to add this to your feature on Man screwing around with nature !
It would be interesting perhaps ( or depressing ) to correlate their "129" shots 
fired with Pegasus' life-time with Radar anomalies over Santa Fe area ? !


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Pegasus II primed for parting shot
LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Sept. 17, 1999 - Scientists at the Department of Energy's Los Alamos 
National Laboratory are preparing to pull the plug on the powerful Pegasus II pulsed-power 
capacitor bank, but not before they get one final shot from their trusted war horse.

Pegasus II will be shut down shortly after a final experimental run on September 23 as 
the High Energy Density Hydrodynamics program prepares for the new Atlas pulsed-power 
machine. This final experiment will be shot number 129 in Pegasus' five years of service.

Scientists use Pegasus II to study how high pressure and sudden changes in magnetic 
fields affect materials placed in the core of the device. In about 10 millionths of a 
second, Pegasus II discharges massive amounts of electrical energy from capacitor banks 
onto a target placed at the core. The sudden influx of energy produces a million 
atmospheres of pressure capable of crushing target materials and launching extremely 
energetic shock waves. "Pegasus II has had a fine run with many notable successes in 
pulsed-power high-energy physics," said Jack Shlachter, leader of the Pegasus II project. 
"Everyone's looking forward to Atlas, but it's hard to forget that Pegasus II has done 
some really good work."

Since it became operational Pegasus II has been running experiments roughly every 
two to three weeks. During its lifetime, Pegasus II has been host to visiting researchers 
from all over the world representing a dozen research institutions and universities. 

Pegasus II has 144 energy-storage capacitors arranged around the two-story Pegasus 
machine. The capacitors can charge to voltages up to 100 kilovolts and the 4.3 mega 
joules of stored energy at this voltage makes Pegasus II one of the largest capacitor-bank 
facilities in the world. Pegasus II produces peak currents as high as 12 mega amps, or 
roughly a million times what a typical microwave oven uses.

The Atlas device will be similar in both purpose and function to Pegasus II, but will have 
a larger chamber at its core and will be capable of energy levels six times that of 
Pegasus II. Atlas' capacitor bank will be capable of storing 24 mega joules and should 
deliver a peak current of 28 to 32 mega amps.

Los Alamos National Laboratory is operated by the University of California for the U.S. 
Department of Energy.