Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research
Encyclopedia
The Langmuir Laboratory for Atmospheric Research is a scientific laboratory studying the cloud processes that produce lightning, hail, and rain, located in the Magdalena Mountains
of central New Mexico
in the United States
. The lab is operated by the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
(NM Tech) with funding from the National Science Foundation
.
The lab was founded in 1963, following pioneering research by E. J. Workman, former president of New Mexico Tech (then the New Mexico School of Mines), and others, including Irving Langmuir
, the namesake of the laboratory. The earlier studies took place on the Plains of San Agustin and the San Mateo Mountains
.
The laboratory is located just south of South Baldy
, the highest peak of the Magdalena mountains, at the southern end of the main ridge crest of the range, at an elevation of 10,679 ft (3,255 m). It occupies the Langmuir Research Site, a congressionally designated area within the Cibola National Forest
, and operates under a Special Use Permit from the US Forest Service. The Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer is under construction (as of 2007) nearby.
Magdalena Mountains
The Magdalena Mountains are a small in area, but regionally high, mountain range in Socorro County, in west-central New Mexico in the southwestern United States. The highest point in the range is South Baldy, at 10,783 ft . The range runs roughly north-south and is about 18 miles long...
of central New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The lab is operated by the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology is a university located in Socorro, New Mexico....
(NM Tech) with funding from the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
.
The lab was founded in 1963, following pioneering research by E. J. Workman, former president of New Mexico Tech (then the New Mexico School of Mines), and others, including Irving Langmuir
Irving Langmuir
Irving Langmuir was an American chemist and physicist. His most noted publication was the famous 1919 article "The Arrangement of Electrons in Atoms and Molecules" in which, building on Gilbert N. Lewis's cubical atom theory and Walther Kossel's chemical bonding theory, he outlined his...
, the namesake of the laboratory. The earlier studies took place on the Plains of San Agustin and the San Mateo Mountains
San Mateo Mountains (Socorro County, New Mexico)
The San Mateo Mountains are a small mountain range in Socorro County, in west-central New Mexico in the southwestern United States. The highest point in the range is West Blue Mountain, at 10,336 ft . The range runs roughly north-south and is about 40 miles long...
.
The laboratory is located just south of South Baldy
South Baldy (New Mexico)
South Baldy is the highest point of the Magdalena Mountains in central New Mexico, in the United States. It is located in the Magdalena Ranger District of the Cibola National Forest, about 9 mi south of Magdalena and 18 mi west-southwest of Socorro...
, the highest peak of the Magdalena mountains, at the southern end of the main ridge crest of the range, at an elevation of 10,679 ft (3,255 m). It occupies the Langmuir Research Site, a congressionally designated area within the Cibola National Forest
Cibola National Forest
The Cibola National Forest is a United States National Forest in western and central New Mexico, USA. The forest also manages four National Grasslands that stretch from northeastern New Mexico eastward into the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma. It is administered by the United States Forest...
, and operates under a Special Use Permit from the US Forest Service. The Magdalena Ridge Observatory Interferometer is under construction (as of 2007) nearby.