NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board)
The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent national agency responsible for investigating transportation accidents within the United States.
Nuclear Detection Devices
Nuclear detection devices, also termed radiation detectors, are systems designed to detect the presence of radioactive materials. These materials may take the form of gases, particles suspended in air, or solid metals (often alloys of uranium or plutonium).
Nuclear Emergency Support Team, United States
The Nuclear Emergency Support Team (NEST) is part of an emergency response branch of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), itself a unit of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). Established in the mid-1970s—long before NNSA itself—NEST has analyzed hundreds of cases involving potential nuclear threats.
Nuclear Power Plants, Security
Nuclear power plants pose two basic security concerns. First, all nuclear reactors both use and produce radioactive elements (e.g., uranium and plutonium) that can be used to build nuclear weapons.
Nuclear Reactors
Nuclear reactors are complex devices in which fissionable elements such as uranium, thorium, or plutonium are made to undergo a sustainable nuclear chain reaction.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), United States
Established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is an independent agency of the federal government tasked with regulating civilian use of nuclear materials. It deals with spent nuclear reactors, radioactive waste, and nuclear and source material, including thorium and isotopes of uranium.
Nuclear Spectroscopy
Nuclear spectroscopy is a powerful tool in the arsenal of scientists and forensic investigators because it allows detailed study of the structure of matter based upon the reactions that take place in excited atomic nuclei. It is a widely used technique to determine the composition of substances because it is more sensitive than other spectroscopic methods and can detect the trace presence of elements in an unknown substance that may only be present on the order of parts per billion.
Nuclear Weapons
A Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile engine is loaded into a truck in 2000 for transport to another building for refurbishment at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS.
Nuclear Winter
Nuclear winter is a meteorological theory estimating the global climatic consequences of a nuclear war—or a natural disaster such as a major asteroid impact—that injects large amounts or dust or water vapor into the atmosphere. Nuclear winter models predict prolonged and worldwide cooling and darkening caused by the blockage of sunlight.
Nucleic Acid Analyzer (HANAA)
HANAA is an acronym for the hand-held advanced nucleic acid analyzer. It was developed by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 1999 based on a previous model of the nucleic acid analyzer ANAA produced in 1997.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a United States National Laboratory managed for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by UT-Battelle, LLC.
Official Secrets Act, United Kingdom
The Official Secrets Act of the United Kingdom prohibits the transfer of information deemed sensitive to national security interests.
OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a coalition of eleven nations that controls over fifty percent of the world's oil and natural gas exports. OPEC members are Algeria, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
Operation Liberty Shield
On March 18, 2003, United States Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge announced the implementation of Operation Liberty Shield, a specific set of measures designed to deter attack and protect Americans during periods of heightened risk of terrorism. The operation included a comprehensive and coordinated response among federal, state, and local authorities to an elevated threat level.
Operation Magic
Operation Magic was the cryptonym given to United States efforts to break Japanese military and diplomatic codes during World War II. The United States Army Signals Intelligence Section (SIS) and the Navy Communication Special Unit worked in tandem to monitor, intercept, decode, and translate Japanese messages.
Operation Mongoose
In November 1961, following the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion, President John F. Kennedy and his advisors launched Operation Mongoose, a covert operation intended to disrupt Cuban government and economic infrastructure.
Operation Shamrock
Operation Shamrock was a covert, domestic intelligence gathering operation that monitored telegraph communications. Shamrock began as a military intelligence program during World War II, but continued until the 1970s.
Orange Volunteers (OV)
Orange Volunteers (OV) is a terrorist group that appeared in the late 1990s and is comprised largely of disgruntled loyalist hardliners who split from groups observing the cease-fire between Ireland and Northern Ireland. OV seeks to prevent a political settlement with Irish nationalists by attacking Catholic civilian interests in Northern Ireland.
OSS (United States Office of Strategic Services)
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first centralized United States intelligence agency. Created in 1942, the agency spearheaded the United States intelligence community, both civilian and military, during World War II.
P-3 Orion Anti-Submarine Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft
First used in the early 1960s, the P-3 Orion was the leading aircraft for United States Navy maritime and anti-submarine reconnaissance over the course of nearly four decades. Many of these aircraft were modified for the collection of electronic intelligence, or ELINT.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Since 1965, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been managed by Battelle corporation. Beginning in the 1980s PNNL has operated as a part of the U.S.
Pakistan, Intelligence and Security
In 1947, the British ended their colonial control of the Indian subcontinent. British India was divided into two sovereign states, predominantly Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan.
Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ)
The Palestine Islamic Jihad (PIJ) originated among militant Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the 1970s. The PIJ-Shiqaqi faction, currently led by Ramadan Shallah in Damascus, is most active.
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF)
The Palestine Liberation Front (PLF) broke away from the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) in the mid-1970s. The PLF later split again into pro-PLO, pro-Syrian, and pro-Libyan factions.
Palestinian Authority, Intelligence and Security
The Israeli-Palestinian struggle has been marked by violence and international diplomatic conflict since the British "Balfour Declaration" opened the predominately Arab territory of Palestine to large-scale Jewish immigration. Tensions escalated in the region, with outbreaks of periodic violence, even before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1947.
Panam 103, (Trial of Libyan Intelligence Agents)
On December 21, 1988, a bomb planted on PanAm Flight 103 en route to New York exploded while the plane was airborne over Lockerbie, Scotland. After an extensive investigation, two men with alleged ties to the intelligence service of Libya were extradited and brought to trial.
Panama Canal
From the time of its opening in 1914 until 1977, when the United States transferred it to the nation of Panama, the Panama Canal was a symbol of U.S. influence in the Americas and, ultimately, the world.
Parabolic Microphones
A parabolic microphone is an ordinary microphone mounted inside a sound-reflecting dish having a parabolic cross section. Sound waves passing straight into the parabolic reflector are focused by it on the microphone; sounds entering the reflector dish from other angles impinge directly on the microphone, but are not focused on it by the reflector.
Pathogen Genomic Sequencing
The Pathogen Genomic Sequencing program initiated by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) in 2002 focuses on characterizing the genetic components of pathogens in order to develop novel diagnostics, treatments and therapies for the diseases they cause. In particular, the program will collect an inventory of genes and proteins that are specific to pathogens and then look for patterns among these molecules.
Pathogen Transmission
Pathogens are microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and fungi that cause disease in humans and other species. Pathogen transmission involves three steps: escape from the host, travel to, and infection of the new host.