Focus: DOE INDEPTH

• share
• favorite_border

Physicists measured how often an electron exchanges two virtual photons as compared to one virtual photon.

• share
• favorite_border

New research suggests that the hot, dense “soup” of particles that existed in the early universe was “stirred” by a magnetic wave that pushed around the positively and negative charged particles, according to scientists in the STAR collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.

• share
• favorite_border

New research suggests that the hot, dense “soup” of particles that existed in the early universe was “stirred” by a magnetic wave that pushed around the positively and negative charged particles, according to scientists in the STAR collaboration at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers combine high-resolution microscopy with new electron image analysis to measure atomic positions with an unprecedented precision of less than half the radius of a hydrogen atom.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers combine high-resolution microscopy with new electron image analysis to measure atomic positions with an unprecedented precision of less than half the radius of a hydrogen atom.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers designed a new technique to create single-molecule diodes that perform 50 times better than all previous designs.

• share
• favorite_border

For the first time, biomolecular machines have been exploited to perform mechanical work to deform and dynamically assemble complex, far-from-equilibrium polymer networks. This development could lead to new pathways to make complex, robust polymer structures using biological molecules.

• share
• favorite_border

More efficient computers and other devices often begin with new materials. One promising option is vanadium dioxide, which rapidly transforms from an insulator to a conductor in femtoseconds. Scientists found that the dioxide responds non-uniformly on the nanoscale, contrary to prior assumptions.

• share
• favorite_border

By carefully tuning the chemical composition of a particular compound, researchers have created a topological crystalline insulator, whose bulk acts as an insulator but whose surface conducts electrical currents.

• share
• favorite_border

Living cells respond to threats in their environment. What if materials could do the same? Using a similar pressure-regulating mechanism to that found in cells, scientists created an artificial cell that responds to a sudden and possibly catastrophic change in its surroundings.

• share
• favorite_border

Crystal growth on a nano/microscale level produces “match-head”-like, three-dimensional structures that enhance light absorption and photovoltaic efficiency. This is the first large structure grown on a nanowire tip and it creates a completely new architecture for harnessing energy.

• share
• favorite_border

New charge breeding techniques produce beams of radioactive ions that can be accelerated to induce nuclear reactions, providing the opportunity to explore aspects of the nuclear force and to study in the laboratory some of the processes creating the elements in stellar environments.

• share
• favorite_border

For the first time, scientists demonstrated controlled generation of magnetic islands known as skyrmions—the magnetic version of a new class of exotic particles at room temperature.

• share
• favorite_border

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics was shared by Arthur B. McDonald, from the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, and Takaaki Kajita, from the Super-Kamiokande collaboration, for discovering neutrino oscillations that show that neutrinos have mass.

• share
• favorite_border

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics was shared by Arthur B. McDonald, the leader of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, and Takaaki Kajita, a leader of the Super-Kamiokande collaboration, for discovering neutrino oscillations, showing that neutrinos have mass.

• share
• favorite_border

The 2015 Nobel Prize in Physics was shared by Arthur B. McDonald, the leader of the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, and Takaaki Kajita, a leader of the Super-Kamiokande collaboration, for discovering neutrino oscillations, showing that neutrinos have mass.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers fabricated high-performance quantum cascade lasers (and integrated them into a device to demonstrate new, high-power broadband terahertz frequency combs, which are powerful tools for high-precision measurements and spectroscopy.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers fabricated high-performance quantum cascade lasers (and integrated them into a device to demonstrate new, high-power broadband terahertz frequency combs, which are powerful tools for high-precision measurements and spectroscopy.

• share
• favorite_border

In solar flow batteries, the proposed charging process links harvesting solar energy and storing it as chemical energy via the electrolyte. Scientists built a solar flow battery that uses an eco-friendly, compatible solvent and needs a lower applied voltage to recharge the battery.

• share
• favorite_border

Friction hampers the movement of all mechanical parts, including engines for transportation. Scientists built a system with virtually no friction. The system wraps graphene flakes around nanodiamonds that then roll between a diamond-like carbon-surface and graphene on silica.

• share
• favorite_border

In solar flow batteries, the proposed charging process links harvesting solar energy and storing it as chemical energy via the electrolyte. Scientists built a solar flow battery that uses an eco-friendly, compatible solvent and needs a lower applied voltage to recharge the battery.

• share
• favorite_border

Friction hampers the movement of all mechanical parts, including engines for transportation. Scientists built a system with virtually no friction. The system wraps graphene flakes around nanodiamonds that then roll between a diamond-like carbon-surface and graphene on silica.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists designed shape-changing composites that used evaporation to power locomotion and generate electricity.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists designed shape-changing composites that used evaporation to power locomotion and generate electricity.

• share
• favorite_border

A new type of particle has been created that can help explain the electron interactions responsible for high-temperature superconductivity.

• share
• favorite_border

A new type of particle has been created that can help explain the electron interactions responsible for high-temperature superconductivity.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists devised a new approach that balances attractions between particles and promises to become a useful tool to create designer materials that can repair damage.

• share
• favorite_border

Water-splitting cells absorb sunlight and produce fuel. Creating such cells means pairing a material to absorb sunlight and generate electrons with the one that uses those electrons to produce fuel. Scientists introduced a novel way to study the flow of electrons where the materials meet.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists revealed that cerium ammonium nitrate (CAN) changes into a complex structure when it is dissolved. The discovery raises pertinent questions about cerium’s behavior in chemical industries and gives insights into possible new opportunities for its use.

• share
• favorite_border

In 2014, the Majorana Demonstrator (MJD) started its search for neutrinoless double beta decay. Observation of this decay would have profound implications for our understanding of physics, including providing hints as to how the Big Bang produced more matter than it did antimatter.

• share
• favorite_border

How long do neutrons live? The answer could change how we think everything from the cosmos to coffee cups. Yet, scientists don’t agree on the neutron longevity. The disagreement is fanned by the limitations of today’s instruments. Now, a highly efficient detector is helping to resolve the puzzle.

• share
• favorite_border

Dramatic increases in ionization efficiencies for uranium, thorium, and palladium, which were made possible with RILIS, enable new studies relevant to nuclear fuels cycles, neutrino detection, and isotope production.

• share
• favorite_border

Pools of fatty molecules self-assemble around treated water droplets to create a cell-like bioreactor that could offer substantial advantages for carrying out complex synthesis processes.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists discovered a material that exhibits an unprecedented mechanism for carbon dioxide capture-and-release with only small shifts in temperature. The material’s structure closely resembles an enzyme found in plants that captures carbon dioxide for conversion into nutrients.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists can now get a high-resolution view of a sample or the details of the first steps in ultra-fast processes, thanks to researchers at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory’s Linac Coherent Light Source.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists correlated atomic-scale defects in graphene with a “bucket brigade” style mechanism that lets protons travel through the graphene. Demonstrating such a mechanism and the prospect for gating it could enable directing proton pathways for improved fuel cells and other uses.

• share
• favorite_border

Extremely water-repellant surfaces were fabricated that can withstand pressures that are 10 times greater than the average pressure a surface would experience resting in a room. The surfaces resist the infiltration of liquid into the nanoscale pockets, staying drier than similar coatings.

• share
• favorite_border

Researchers developed a new, protein-based system that can mine certain types of uranium from sea water with exceedingly high affinity and selectivity.

• share
• favorite_border

A suppression of strange quark production relative to up and down quark production had previously been noted; for the first time, the result has been verified when a single pair is produced.

• share
• favorite_border

Surprisingly, smaller particles colliding with large nuclei appear to produce tiny droplets of quark-gluon plasma. Recent results show that the tiny droplets behave like a liquid not the expected gas. The results support the case that these small particles produce tiny drops of the primordial soup.

• share
• favorite_border

Good news for those interested in accurately modeling combustion engines, scientists can now discriminate between previously unidentified radicals found in the early stages of the combustion process from similar compounds.

• share
• favorite_border

Light waves trapped on a metal's surface travel farther than expected. While the distance might seem quite small, it is far enough to possibly be useful in ultra-fast electronic circuits.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists have – for the first time – precisely tracked the surprisingly rapid process by which light rearranges the outermost electrons of a metal compound and turns it into a catalyst. These details could help scientists predict and control the quick, early steps in reactions vital to renewable fuels.

• share
• favorite_border

Building better batteries means understanding the chemistry of acids and bases. Now, scientists found that when a strong acid is mixed with water, the negatively and positively charged parts create an unexpected structure.

• share
• favorite_border

Turning carbon dioxide from certain power plants into a more valuable chemical would reduce emissions while creating a revenue return. Scientists at the University of Pittsburgh derived a metal-free catalyst that does the trick without the need for expensive, extreme conditions.

• share
• favorite_border

With detection limits down to the zeptomolar range (about 600 molecules in a sample), a new technology can analyze the metabolic composition of individual microbial cells, as well as detect the presence of extremely low levels of environmental contaminants.

• share
• favorite_border

In all organisms, water’s pH has a profound effect. Because the interaction of carbon dioxide and water explains the natural acidity of water and all accompanying reactions, it is considered a vital reaction by scientists. Researchers recently made a discovery about how dissolved dioxide bonds.

• share
• favorite_border

Scientists devised a new way of assembling ordered crystals made of nanoparticles. In this process, nanoparticles in the shape of cubes, octahedrons, and spheres coordinate with each other to build structures. The shapes are bound together by complementary DNA molecules on each type of particle.

• share
• favorite_border

Used in everything from cell phones to supercomputers, tiny electronic circuits contain transistors that generate performance-compromising heat. Thanks to a team working at the Molecular Foundry, circuit designers can “see” how temperatures change inside the circuits.

• share
• favorite_border

A promising catalyst seemed erratic in reducing the toxins released by burning gasoline and other such fuels. The catalyst’s three different surfaces behaved differently. For the first time, researchers got an atomically resolved view of the three structures. This information may provide insights into why the surfaces have distinct properties.