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    Teasing Strange Matter from Ordinary

    Teasing Strange Matter from Ordinary

    Like protons and neutrons, Lambda particles consist of three quarks bound together by gluons. But unlike protons and neutrons, which contain a mixture of up and down quarks, Lambdas also contain a strange quark.

    Sustainable biomass production capacity could triple US bioeconomy, report finds

    Sustainable biomass production capacity could triple US bioeconomy, report finds

    The United States could triple its current bioeconomy by producing more than 1 billion tons per year of plant-based biomass for renewable fuels, while meeting projected demands for food, feed, fiber, conventional forest products and exports, according to the Department of Energy's latest Billion-Ton Report led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

    Searching for the Decay of Nature's Rarest Isotope: Tantalum-180m

    Searching for the Decay of Nature's Rarest Isotope: Tantalum-180m

    The tantalum isotope, Ta-180m, is found naturally in a long-lived excited state. However, the radioactive decay of this excited state in Ta-180m has never been observed.

    It's Hearty, It's Meaty, It's Mold

    It's Hearty, It's Meaty, It's Mold

    Fungi naturally produce all the ingredients needed for a cruelty-free meat substitute. Our scientists are exploring how tuning the genomes of mushrooms and molds can transform these food sources into gourmet, nutrient-packed meals made with minimal processing and a light environmental footprint.

    Measuring the Thickness of the Neutron Skin with Ultra-Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions

    Measuring the Thickness of the Neutron Skin with Ultra-Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions

    When scientists collide heavy nuclei, the constituent quarks and gluons melt into a quark-gluon plasma.

    Scientists use novel technique to create new energy-efficient microelectronic device

    Scientists use novel technique to create new energy-efficient microelectronic device

    Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have created a new material that uses "redox gating" to control the movement of electrons in and out of a semiconducting material.

    Cracking the Quantum Code: Simulations Track Entangled Quarks

    Cracking the Quantum Code: Simulations Track Entangled Quarks

    Theorists and computational scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University (SBU) ran a series of quantum simulations to explore one of the quirkiest features of the quantum realm: entanglement. The study takes quantum back to its roots in seeking to explain the behavior of subatomic particles.

    Scientists reveal the first unconventional superconductor that can be found in mineral form in nature

    Scientists reveal the first unconventional superconductor that can be found in mineral form in nature

    Scientists from Ames National Laboratory have identified the first unconventional superconductor with a chemical composition also found in nature.

    Staying in the Loop: How Superconductors Are Helping Computers "Remember"

    Staying in the Loop: How Superconductors Are Helping Computers "Remember"

    To advance neuromorphic computing, some researchers are looking at analog improvements--advancing not just software, but hardware too. Research from the UC San Diego and UC Riverside shows a promising new way to store and transmit information using disordered superconducting loops.

    Charging Up the Commute

    Charging Up the Commute

    A team of researchers at ORNL demonstrated that a light-duty passenger electric vehicle can be wirelessly charged at 100-kW with 96% efficiency using polyphase electromagnetic coupling coils with rotating magnetic fields.

    Giving particle detectors a boost

    Giving particle detectors a boost

    Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have tested the performance of a new device that boosts particle signals.

    Inverting Fusion Plasmas Improves Performance

    Inverting Fusion Plasmas Improves Performance

    At high temperatures and densities, plasmas in fusion devices can develop gradients that can grow into instabilities, including edge localized modes (ELMs) that can damage reactor walls. In this research, scientists studied negative triangularity, a way the plasma shape can deviate from an oval. The research found this shaping was inherently free of instabilities across various plasma conditions, including operating reactor conditions.

    Preventing Magnet Meltdowns Before They Can Start

    Preventing Magnet Meltdowns Before They Can Start

    High-temperature superconductor magnets have the potential to lower the costs of operating particle accelerators and enable powerful new technologies like fusion reactors. But quenches - the sudden, destructive events wherein a part of the material loses superconductivity - are a major barrier to their deployment.

    Statisticians and Physicists Team Up to Bring a Machine Learning Approach to Mining of Nuclear Data

    Statisticians and Physicists Team Up to Bring a Machine Learning Approach to Mining of Nuclear Data

    Theoretical models can fill the gaps in experimental physics, but using a single imperfect theoretical model can be misleading. To improve the quality of predictions, researchers created a machine learning method that combines the results of several imperfect models.

    When Plants Flower: Scientists ID Genes, Mechanism in Sorghum

    When Plants Flower: Scientists ID Genes, Mechanism in Sorghum

    Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Oklahoma State University have identified key genes and the mechanism by which they control flowering in sorghum, an important bioenergy crop.

    Scientists reveal molecular mysteries to control silica scaling in water treatment

    Scientists reveal molecular mysteries to control silica scaling in water treatment

    Scientist develop synthetic polymers to combat silica scale, the unwanted coating that fouls the surfaces of various engineering systems, such as reverse osmosis desalination water-treatment membranes, heat exchanger components and plant pipelines

    In Peatland Soil, a Warmer Climate and Elevated Carbon Dioxide Rapidly Alter Soil Organic Matter

    In Peatland Soil, a Warmer Climate and Elevated Carbon Dioxide Rapidly Alter Soil Organic Matter

    Conditions in peatlands slow microbial decomposition of organic matter into greenhouse gases. This process stores carbon in the soil. Researchers use the Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) experiment to warm air and soil in a northern Minnesota bog to simulate the effects of climate change on the carbon cycle. The experiments showed that all organic soil components can break down more quickly in warmer conditions.

    One way to improve a fusion reaction: Use weaknesses as strengths

    One way to improve a fusion reaction: Use weaknesses as strengths

    Scientists are using the imperfections in magnetic fields that confine a fusion reaction to improve and enhance the plasma in an approach outlined in a new paper in the journal Nature Communications. PPPL Physicist Seong-Moo Yang led the research team, which spans various institutions in the U.S. and South Korea. Yang says this is the first time any research team has validated a systematic approach to tailoring magnetic field imperfections to make the plasma suitable for use as a power source. These magnetic field imperfections are known as error fields.

    The "Nested Doll" Nucleus Nitrogen-9 Stretches the Definition of a Nucleus to the Limit

    The "Nested Doll" Nucleus Nitrogen-9 Stretches the Definition of a Nucleus to the Limit

    Experimentalists and theorists have provided strong evidence for the creation of an exotic isotope, nitrogen-9, which has two neutrons and seven protons. This unbalanced ratio of protons to neutrons produces a nucleus that only survives for less than one-billionth of a nanosecond. The work also provides information on nitrogen-9's mirror nucleus, helium-9, which has two protons to its seven neutrons.

    Scientists Put Forth a Smarter Way to Protect a Smarter Grid

    Scientists Put Forth a Smarter Way to Protect a Smarter Grid

    PNNL scientists have put forth a new approach to protect the electric grid, creating a tool that sorts and prioritizes cyber threats on the fly.

    Scientists shine new light on the future of nanoelectronic devices

    Scientists shine new light on the future of nanoelectronic devices

    Scientists develop a method for examining what happens when nanoelectronic materials switch between conducting and nonconducting phases. This may accelerate the development of neural-like circuits for use in nanoelectronic devices.

    Filling in the Cracks: Scientists Improve Predictions for the Dissolution of Minerals in Rock Fractures

    Filling in the Cracks: Scientists Improve Predictions for the Dissolution of Minerals in Rock Fractures

    Fluids moving through fractures in subsurface rock react with chemicals in the rock to alter the fractures and the rock's permeability. The processes involved operate much more slowly in the field than in laboratory tests, making them hard to predict. This study used simulations of mineral dissolution to discover a link between the structure of fractures in rock and how that rock reacts with fluid moving through it.

    Conduction-cooled Accelerating Cavity Proves Feasible for Commercial Applications

    Conduction-cooled Accelerating Cavity Proves Feasible for Commercial Applications

    From televisions to X-ray machines, many modern technologies are enabled by electrons that have been juiced up by a particle accelerator. Now, Jefferson Lab has teamed up with General Atomics and other partners to unlock even more applications. The team has designed, built and successfully tested a prototype of a key component of particle accelerators that could enable novel industrial applications of accelerators.

    Artificial Atoms Power a Novel Quantum Processor Architecture

    Artificial Atoms Power a Novel Quantum Processor Architecture

    The next generation of programmable quantum devices will require processors built around superior qubits. Researchers developed a blueprint for a novel quantum information processor based on fluxonium qubits. These fluxonium qubits outperform transmons, the most widely used superconducting qubits. The researchers also made practical suggestions on how to adapt and build the cutting-edge hardware for superconducting devices.

    EcoFABs Could Lead to Better Bioenergy Crops

    EcoFABs Could Lead to Better Bioenergy Crops

    A greater understanding of how plants and microbes work together to store vast amounts of atmospheric carbon in the soil will help in the design of better bioenergy crops for the fight against climate change. Deciphering the mechanics of this mutually beneficial relationship is, however, challenging as conditions in nature are extremely difficult for scientists to replicate in the laboratory. To address this challenge, researchers created fabricated ecosystems or EcoFABs.