Researchers get most comprehensive view yet of lithium-ion battery electrode damage
A multi-institute team of researchers has developed the most comprehensive view yet of how repeated charging damages lithium-ion battery electrodes. Manufacturers could potentially use this information to design more reliable and longer-lasting batteries for smartphones and cars, the researchers say.
Story Tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, June 3, 2019
ORNL story tips: Tiny test fuels by ORNL explore new reactor fuels more rapidly; ORNL-developed computing method detects, reports bugs in VA's healthcare data system; new heat transport study in thermoelectric materials may lead to better heat-to-electricity conversion.
Physicists create stable, strongly magnetized plasma jet in laboratory
A team of scientists has for the first time created a particular form of coherent and magnetized plasma jet that could deepen the understanding of the workings of much larger jets that stream from newborn stars and possibly black holes.
Scientists Design Organic Cathode for High Performance Batteries
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have designed a new, organic cathode material for lithium batteries. With sulfur at its core, the material is more energy-dense, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly than traditional cathode materials in lithium batteries.
Combination of experiments and calculations allows examination of boron's complicated dance
In a study that combines groundbreaking experimental work and theoretical calculations, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, in collaboration with scientists in Germany and Poland, have determined the nuclear geometry of two isotopes of boron. The result could help open a path to precise calculations of the structure of other nuclei that scientists could experimentally validate.
Why Are These Extremely Light Calcium Isotopes So Small?
The radii of three proton-rich calcium isotopes are smaller than previously predicted because models didn't account for two nuclear interactions.
Radiation Damage Lowers Melting Point of Potential Fusion Reactor Material
SLAC's 'electron camera' films rapidly melting tungsten and reveals atomic-level material behavior that could impact the design of future reactors.
Tapping the power of AI and high-performance computing to extend evolution to superconductors
In a new study from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, researchers used the power of artificial intelligence and high-performance supercomputers to introduce and assess the impact of different configurations of defects on the performance of a superconductor.
Finding the Cause of Capacity Loss in a Metal-Oxide Battery Material
The formation and thickening of internal and surface barriers during battery charge and discharge cycles limits electrochemical reactions in a lithium-ion battery with an iron-oxide electrode.
Raised on Copper: A New Material for Tougher Devices
Discovery of new boron-containing phase opens the door for resilient flexible electronics.
Weighty Polymers Impact Battery Stability and Safety
Materials prevent battery failure by inhibiting tree-like growths.
Science Snapshots: Lithium Under Pressure, A 'Silver Bullet' for the Conversion of Carbon Dioxide, Understanding Microbiomes for Wastewater Treatment
Researchers at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry have predicted fascinating new properties of lithium; a powerful combination of experiment and theory has revealed atomic-level details about how silver helps transform carbon dioxide gas into a reusable form; new study reports the first comprehensive
Summit Charts a Course to Uncover the Origins of Genetic Diseases
A team led by Ivaylo Ivanov of Georgia State University used the 200-petaflop IBM AC922 Summit system, the world's smartest and most powerful supercomputer, to develop an integrative model of the transcription preinitiation complex (PIC), a complex of proteins vital to gene expression.
A New Collider Concept Would Take Quantum Theories to an Extreme
A new idea for smashing beams of elementary particles into one another could reveal how light and matter interact under extreme conditions that may exist on the surfaces of exotic astrophysical objects, in powerful cosmic light bursts and star explosions, in next-generation particle colliders and in hot, dense fusion plasma.
Unexpected observation of ice at low temperature, high pressure questions ice, water theory
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory studying super-cold states of water discovered a pathway to the unexpected formation of dense, crystalline phases of ice thought to exist beyond Earth's limits. Their findings, reported in Nature, challenge accepted theories and could lead to better understanding of ice found on other planets, moons and elsewhere in space.
New Argonne Battery Design Offers "Solid" Advantage
In a new study from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, researchers have identified a new boundary layer that emerges between a lithium metal anode and a lithium transition metal oxide (LLZO) electrolyte, potentially leading to improved battery stability.
Laser Focus Shines Light on How Nanoparticles Form
Titan supercomputer tells origin story of nanoparticle size distributions with large-scale simulations.
In a first, researchers identify reddish coloring in an ancient fossil - a 3-million-year-old mouse
Researchers have for the first time detected chemical traces of red pigment in an ancient fossil - an exceptionally well-preserved mouse, not unlike today's field mice, that roamed the fields of what is now the German village of Willershausen around 3 million years ago.
Improving Isotope Supply for a Cancer-Fighting Drug
Production of actinium-227 ramps up for use in a drug to fight prostate cancer that has spread to bone.
Extracting Signs of the Elusive Neutrino
Scientists use software to "develop" images that trace neutrinos' interactions in a bath of cold liquid argon.
Machine learning speeds modeling of experiments aimed at capturing fusion energy on Earth to rapidly predict behavior of plasma that fuels fusion reactions
Release describes application of machine learning form of artificial intelligence to predict the behavior of fusion plasma.
Record-shattering underwater sound
A team of researchers has produced a record-shattering underwater sound with an intensity that eclipses that of a rocket launch. The intensity was equivalent to directing the electrical power of an entire city onto a single square meter, resulting in sound pressures above 270 decibels.
CosmoGAN: Training a Neural Network to Study Dark Matter
A Berkeley Lab-led research group is using a deep learning method known as generative adversarial networks to enhance the use of gravitational lensing in the study of dark matter.
Breakthrough Technique for Studying Gene Expression Takes Root in Plants
An open-source RNA analysis platform has been successfully used on plant cells for the first time - an advance that could herald a new era of fundamental research and bolster efforts to engineer more efficient food and biofuel crop plants. The technology, called Drop-seq, is a method for measuring the RNA present in individual cells, allowing scientists to see what genes are being expressed and how this relates to the specific functions of different cell types.
Bio-inspired material targets oceans' uranium stores for sustainable nuclear energy
Scientists have demonstrated a new bio-inspired material for an eco-friendly and cost-effective approach to recovering uranium from seawater. The low-cost polymer adsorbent could help push past bottlenecks in the cost and efficiency of extracting uranium resources from oceans for sustainable energy production.