Story tips from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, March 2001

PHYSICS – Looking for a break . . .
While Greg Maddux’s curveball might break 19 inches at Atlanta’s Turner Field, conditions at Denver’s Coors Field can cut the amount of break by 10 percent, according to some groundbreaking research performed at ORNL. The fluid mechanics research, which aims to precisely quantify the interaction between solids and fluids, uses the lab’s computer to run an algorithm developed by an ORNL researcher that takes into account barometric pressure, humidity and temperature. In the baseball example, two inches may not seem like a lot, but in a game of inches, that and the fact the ball travels farther in Denver are wreaking havoc on finesse pitchers like Maddux. Researchers expect this work to apply to many challenges in physics, including problems in aerodynamics and nanoscale devices. They also see applications in the modeling of submarines. [ ORNL researchers are saving key industries of the future hundreds of thousands of dollars in energy costs with a process that starts by simply taking a look around. The DOE program, called BestPractices, encourages industries to examine their most energy-intensive plant utility systems and make improvements to increase energy efficiency. Companies that participate in the program get a visit from BestPractices experts like Mitch Olszewski of ORNL who show the firm how to assess their utility systems using tools and techniques developed at ORNL and other DOE laboratories. Already, the program has saved dozens of firms several hundred thousand dollars. [ Like the Visible Man and Visible Woman, the Digital Pig could serve as an important model in cardiovascular and pulmonary studies as well as other areas of biomedical research. Researchers at ORNL, Walter Reed Army Institute Research and the University of South Florida envision the digital pig as being a tool to detect and diagnose lung problems and other internal disorders in people. Already, animal models provide valuable information that can be used to diagnose and treat conditions in people, and this work with a pig model could speed the results. The digital pig could also be used in the development of body armor to model the transmission and distribution of force. [ Turning the drab brownish-gray zebrafish green isn’t a St. Patrick’s Day stunt for researchers at ORNL. Actually, the research is helping scientists study the effects of contamination on fish and relates the effects back to other wildlife and people. Of particular interest are chemicals such as pesticides, dioxins and PCBs that mimic or block the normal actions of hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. In this study, researchers expose zebrafish embryos to estrogen and pollutants after attaching a bioreporter gene that glows green in the presence of certain pollutants. Because of the remarkable clarity of the zebrafish embryo, researchers can determine exactly when and where the specific gene of interest is turned on or off after being exposed to a pollutant. [

To arrange for an interview with any of these researchers, please contact Ron Walli of Communications and Community Outreach at (865) 576-0226; [email protected].