Modeling Polymers for Next-Generation Manufacturing and Sustainability
Polymers experience changing conditions during manufacturing, which can affect their final properties and performance. The way they react to manufacturing forces can be extremely complex and hard to measure. Researchers combined theory and modeling to characterize melted polymers under steady flow and revealed universal features that can inform the design of advanced materials for manufacturing.
Theoretical modeling illuminates a new nonlinear Hall Effect
An international team of researchers including a team from the Center for the Advancement of Topological Semimetals (CATS), an Energy Frontier Research Center under the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science led by Ames National Laboratory, experimentally demonstrated a new type of nonlinear Hall effect.
Unlocking Sugar to Generate Biofuels and Bioproducts
Plant biologists at Brookhaven National Laboratory have engineered enzymes to modify grass plants so their biomass can be more efficiently converted into biofuels and other bioproducts.
Entrepreneurship program at Argonne opens applications for startups
Chain Reaction Innovations, the entrepreneurship program at Argonne National Laboratory, seeks innovators to embed at Argonne and develop their clean energy or climate technologies.
Ultrathin Crystals Vibe with Infrared Light
For effective molecular sensing, imaging, and signaling, materials must meet strict crystalline quality requirements. Researchers found an improved way to make high-quality ribbon-shaped nanocrystals that resonate strongly with infrared light. They tested these nanoribbons using a unique, ultrabroadband infrared probe and found the highest quality reported for such materials to date. This quality makes the crystals excellent prospects for use in high-performance infrared devices.
Major milestone achieved in new quantum computing architecture
Researchers at Argonne and partner institutions report a significant advance in quantum computing. They have prolonged the coherence time of their single-electron qubit to an impressive 0.1 milliseconds, nearly a thousand-fold improvement.
Inspection method increases confidence in laser powder bed fusion 3D printing
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have improved flaw detection to increase confidence in metal parts that are 3D-printed using laser powder bed fusion.
At the root of bulked-up plants
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists identified a gene "hotspot" in the poplar tree that triggers dramatically increased root growth. The discovery supports development of better bioenergy crops and other plants that can thrive in difficult conditions while storing more carbon belowground.
PROSPECT Characterizes the Footprint of Neutrinos
Predictions based on the Standard Model of particle physics don't always agree with what scientists see in experimental data. One way to examine these differences is emissions of neutrinos from nuclear reactors. As part of this research agenda, scientists in the PROSPECT Collaboration have reported the most precise measurement ever of the energy spectrum of antineutrinos emitted from the fission of uranium-235, providing a new reference energy spectrum and new constraints on the origin of the disagreements between data and models.
SLAC scientists shed light on potential breakthrough biomedical molecule
Developing a new, light-activated method to produce the molecule opens doors for future biomedical applications.
Researchers probe molten rock to crack Earth's deepest secrets
New research focused on the quantum structure of elements under extreme conditions has implications for understanding Earth's evolution, interpreting unusual seismic signals, and even the study of exoplanets for insights into habitability.
Itinerant Magnetism and Superconductivity in Exotic 2D Metals for Next-Generation Quantum Devices
The Quantum System Accelerator (QSA) researchers at Berkeley Lab conducted a series of experiments with a new type of layered 2D metal (TMD), finding connections in electronic behavior such as itinerant magnetism and superconductivity, which might potentially help fabricate complex superconducting quantum processors.
Scientists Amplify Superconducting Sensor Arrays Signals Near the Quantum Limit
Conventional sensors usually lack the sensitivity needed for studies of quantum phenomena and other complex cases. One solution is to use superconducting sensors, but amplifying their signals is challenging. Researchers built on advances from quantum computing to add a special type of amplifiers, superconducting traveling-wave parametric amplifiers, to superconducting sensors. These amplifiers are almost noiseless and operate at relatively high temperatures.
Electrons are quick-change artists in molten salts, chemists show
In a finding that helps elucidate how molten salts in advanced nuclear reactors might behave, scientists have shown how electrons interacting with the ions of the molten salt can form three states with different properties.
Signaling Across Kingdoms to Build the Plant Microbiome
In a plant microbiome, the microbial community assembles and changes by exchanging signals between the host plant and the microbes. Researchers have gathered and filtered a large amount of data using a combination of computational approaches to identify new mechanisms in this signaling process. The study discovered a host transport mechanism and a chemical signal that influences beneficial bacterial colonization of plants' roots.
Scientists Find the Potential Key to Longer-Lasting Sodium Batteries for Electric Vehicles
Lithium-ion batteries are useful for electric vehicles but use raw materials that are costly and face potential supply chain issues. The performance of one alternative, sodium-ion batteries, declines rapidly with repeated charges and discharges.
Neutrons see stress in 3D-printed parts, advancing additive manufacturing
Using neutrons to see the additive manufacturing process at the atomic level, scientists have shown that they can measure strain in a material as it evolves and track how atoms move in response to stress.
Cleaner Snow Boosts Future Snowpack Predictions
Less pollution and the odd shapes of snow grains as they pack together should help cut the decline of snowpack later this century.
Plastic production via advanced recycling lowers GHG emissions
Research by the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory reveals that recycling post-use plastic through pyrolysis can reduce GHG emissions by 18-23%. Approach can potentially enhance sustainability by minimizing waste and fossil resource reliance.
Researchers Develop a Novel Method to Study Nuclear Reactions on Short-Lived Isotopes Involved in Explosions of Stars
The nuclear reactions that power stellar explosions involve short-lived nuclei that are hard to study in the laboratory. Researchers used a combination of methods to measure a reaction where a neutron from a deuterium target is exchanged with a proton from a radioactive projectile, a reaction equivalent to a process in exploding stars.
Making Rad Maps with Robot Dogs
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have created multi-sensor systems that can map nuclear radiation in 3D in real-time. Researchers are now testing how to integrate their system with robots that can autonomously investigate radiation areas.
Doubling Down on Known Protein Families
Through a novel approach detailed in Nature, a massive computational analysis of microbiome datasets more than doubled the number of known protein families. This is the first time protein structures have been used to help characterize the vast array of microbial "dark matter."
Tuning a Fundamental Material Property with an Electronic Coating
Researchers have discovered a way to tune some semiconductors to reduce the amount of energy needed to eject electrons. The approach works by placing a bilayer coating of an insulator and graphene on top of the semiconductor then applying a voltage between the semiconductor and graphene. This bilayer approach could improve the efficiency of electromechanical devices and electron accelerators.
Scientists illuminate the mechanics of solid-state batteries
A team led by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a framework for designing solid-state batteries, or SSBs, with mechanics in mind. Their paper, published in Science, reviewed how these factors change SSBs during their cycling.
Scientists Discover a New Phase of High-Density, Ultra-Hot Ice
For the first time, scientists have direct evidence of an exotic state of ice that may form inside Uranus, Neptune, and other water-rich gas giants due to extreme temperatures and pressures.