SLAC's upgraded X-ray laser facility produces first light
The LCLS-II upgrade project will increase the X-ray laser's power by thousands of times, producing a million pulses per second compared to 120 per second today. Now, the first phase of the upgrade has come into operation, producing an X-ray beam for the first time using newly installed undulators. The full upgrade is due to be completed within the next two years.
Battery Breakthrough Gives Boost to Electric Flight and Long-Range Electric Cars
Researchers at Berkeley Lab, in collaboration with Carnegie Mellon University, have developed a new battery material that could enable long-range electric vehicles that can drive for hundreds of miles on a single charge, and electric planes called eVTOLs for fast, environmentally friendly commutes.
The Secret to Renewable Solar Fuels is an Off-and-On Again Relationship
Copper that was once bound with oxygen is better at converting carbon dioxide into renewable fuels than copper that was never bound to oxygen, according to scientists at Berkeley Lab and Caltech.
Charm Quarks Offer Clues to Confinement
Nuclear physicists are trying to understand how particles called quarks and gluons combine to form hadrons, composite particles made of two or three quarks. New research suggests quarks in the hot soup created in particle collisions at RHIC recombine directly.
Customizable smart window technology could improve energy efficiency of buildings
Scientists combined solar cell technology with a novel optimization approach to develop a smart window prototype that maximizes design across a wide range of criteria.
Scientists Successfully Demonstrate a New Experiment in the Search for Theorized 'Neutrinoless' Process
Nuclear physicists affiliated with Berkeley Lab played a leading role in analyzing data for a demonstration experiment in France that has achieved record precision for a specialized detector material.
Argonne soil carbon research reduces uncertainty in predicting climate change impacts
DOE and USDA researchers use new global models to study how environmental controllers affect soil organic carbon, changes in which can alter atmospheric carbon concentrations and affect climate. Predictions could benefit industry mitigation plans.
Learning more about particle collisions with machine learning
A team of Argonne scientists has devised a machine learning algorithm that calculates, with low computational time, how the ATLAS detector in the Large Hadron Collider would respond to the ten times more data expected with a planned upgrade in 2027.
New cathode coating extends lithium-ion battery life, boosts safety
The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, in collaboration with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, has developed a new particle-level cathode coating for lithium ion batteries meant to increase their life and safety.
Scientists Dive Deep Into Hidden World of Quantum States
A research team led by the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has developed a technique that could lead to new electronic materials that surpass the limitations imposed by Moore's Law.
Precise Measurement of Pions Confirms Understanding of Fundamental Symmetry
Nuclear physicists have announced the most precise measurement yet of the ultra-short lifetime of the neutral pion. The result is an important validation of our understanding of the theory of quantum chromodynamics, which describes the makeup of ordinary matter. The research, carried out at the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, was recently published in the journal Science.
Story Tips: Predicting fire risk, solid state stability check and images in a flash
ORNL Story Tips: Predicting fire risk, solid state stability check and images in a flash
Summit Helps Predict Molecular Breakups
A team used the Summit supercomputer to simulate transition metal systems--such as copper bound to molecules of nitrogen, dihydrogen, or water--and correctly predicted the amount of energy required to break apart dozens of molecular systems, paving the way for a greater understanding of these materials.
Carbon-loving materials designed to reduce industrial emissions
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, are advancing gas membrane materials to expand practical technology options for reducing industrial carbon emissions.
Science Snapshots July 2020
Berkeley Lab Science Snapshots July 2020
Mathematical noodling leads to new insights into an old fusion problem
Scientists at PPPL have gained new insight into a common type of plasma hiccup that interferes with fusion reactions. These findings could help bring fusion energy closer to reality.
Computing collaboration reveals global ripple effect of shifting monsoons
Scientists from ORNL and a dozen other international research institutions ran a series of simulations to produce the most elaborate set of projections to date that illustrates possible changes in nine monsoon regions across five continents.
Process for 'two-faced' nanomaterials may aid energy, information tech
A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory implanted atoms precisely into the top layers of ultra-thin crystals, yielding two-sided Janus structures that may prove useful in developing energy and information technologies.
X-rays size up protein structure at the 'heart' of COVID-19 virus
Researchers have performed the first room temperature X-ray measurements on the SARS-CoV-2 main protease--the enzyme that enables the virus to reproduce. It marks an important first step in the ultimate goal of building a comprehensive 3D model of the enzymatic protein that will be used to advance supercomputing simulations aimed at finding drug inhibitors to block the virus's replication mechanism and help end the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scientists develop new tool to design better fusion devices
Researchers have demonstrated that an advanced computer code could help design stellarators confine the essential heat from plasma fusion more effectively.
Beneath the surface of our galaxy's water worlds
Scientists have simulated conditions on water-rich exoplanets to learn more about their geological composition, and found a new transition state between rock and water.
Introducing a New Isotope: Mendelevium-244
A team of scientists working at Berkeley Lab's 88-Inch Cyclotron has discovered a new form of the human-made element mendelevium. The newly created isotope, mendelevium-244, is the 17th and lightest form of the element, which was first discovered in 1955 by a Berkeley Lab team.
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Using chaos as a tool, scientists discover new method of making 3D-heterostructured materials
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory and their collaborators from Iowa State University have developed a new approach for generating layered, difficult-to-combine, heterostructured solids. Heterostructured materials, composed of layers of dissimilar building blocks display unique electronic transport and magnetic properties that are governed by quantum interactions between their structurally different building blocks, and open new avenues for electronic and energy applications.
SLAC and Stanford scientists home in on pairs of atoms that boost a catalyst's activity
A study identified which pairs of atoms in a catalyst nanoparticle are most active in a reaction that breaks down a harmful exhaust gas in catalytic converters. The results are a step toward engineering cheaper, more efficient catalysts.
ORNL launches rapid access licensing program to speed up COVID-19 solutions
The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has launched a program designed to accelerate deployment of innovations that may help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 Rapid Access Licensing Program will allow companies to license these select technologies at no cost for one year.