Ironing out the interiors of exoplanets
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and collaborators have used lasers at the National Ignition Facility to experimentally determine the high-pressure melting curve and structural properties of pure iron up to 1,000 GPa (nearly 10,000,000 atmospheres), three times the pressure of Earth's inner core and nearly four times greater pressure than any previous experiments to model the interior structure and dynamics of expolanets.
Go on a science adventure with PPPL's Science on Saturday Lecture series
The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory's Science on Saturday lecture series features cutting-edge science talks by researchers from around the country. It will be held online again this year beginning Jan. 29
Live Celebration, Q&A: Brookhaven Lab's 75th Anniversary
Brookhaven National Laboratory will kick-off its 75th anniversary with a live-streamed celebration. Meet three of the Lab's leaders as they share their vision for the future of particle physics, climate science, quantum information science, and more. Then, the panel will answer questions from a live, virtual audience.
Partnership focuses on cutting-edge glass technology
The University of Adelaide's Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS) has partnered with The Coretec Group, Inc. to develop a glass to be used in the US company's CSpace, a 3D static volumetric display technology. This project will be jointly funded by the University of Adelaide.
Avoiding Chains of Magnetic Islands May Lead to Fusion Paradise
Magnetic confinement fields in tokamaks can contain areas called magnetic islands in which plasma particles move extra quickly, preventing the plasma from reaching fusion temperatures. Researchers have now observed the spontaneous formation of a structure in the plasma with multiple magnetic islands. These "heteroclinic islands" do not merge into each other while embedded in a larger magnetic field tube. This information will aid the design and operation of future fusion reactors.
Common household cleaner can boost effort to harvest fusion energy on Earth
Path-setting findings demonstrate for the first time a novel regime for confining heat in stellarators. The demonstration could advance the twisty design as a blueprint for future fusion power plants.
Artificially altered material could accelerate neuromorphic device development
Neuromorphic devices -- which emulate the decision-making processes of the human brain -- show great promise for solving pressing scientific problems, but building physical systems to realize this potential presents researchers with a significant challenge. An international team has gained additional insights into a material compound called vanadium oxide, or VO2, that might be the missing ingredient needed to complete a reliable neuromorphic recipe.
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Better than donuts? Here are a baker's dozen of research stories from 2021 at PPPL that you don't want to miss
Thirteen stories that highlight PPPL findings during the past year.
Say hello to a record-setting isotope
In collaboration with an international team of researchers, Michigan State University has helped create the world's lightest version, or isotope, of magnesium to date. Forged at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory at MSU, or NSCL, this isotope is so unstable, it falls apart before scientists can measure it directly. Yet this isotope that isn't keen on existing can help researchers better understand how the atoms that define our existence are made.
Heat conduction important for droplet dynamics
When driving in the rain, it's preferable that the raindrops roll or bounce off of the windshield instead of coating it or even freezing. A team of engineers at the McKelvey School of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis found that conduction of heat plays a larger role than previously thought in the dynamics of droplets on smooth surfaces that repel water.
Editorial: Bionic Devices Offer Benefits, But Pose Health, Ethical Concerns
In APL Bioengineering, editor Rylie A. Green highlights the disconnect between what bionic technologies can actually provide versus public and patient expectations and discusses how the health and ethical risks involved in embracing bionic devices may outweigh their benefits. When any device is implanted within the body, it poses significant risks beyond the surgery itself, and the hype around "the bionic man" should be tempered by these risks.
Sustainable Silk Material for Biomedical, Optical, Food Supply Applications
In Applied Physics Reviews, researchers discuss the properties of silk and recent and future applications of the material. It has been used in drug delivery and is ideal for wearable and implantable health monitoring sensors. Silk is also useful in optics and electronics and more recently has come to the forefront of sustainability research. The use of silk coatings may also reduce food waste, which is a significant component of the global carbon footprint.
Coughing Downward Reduces Spread of Respiratory Droplets
In AIP Advances, researchers show models driving how respiratory droplets fell from a mannequin inside a water tunnel, which was inclined at different angles to mimic a person going up and down stairs. Using glass microspheres and lasers, they could visualize the flow motion behind the mannequins.
Plasma-Based Engineering Creates Contact-Killing, Antifouling, Drug-Release Surfaces
Conventional wet-chemistry methods used to create biocidal materials are complex, time-consuming, and expensive. In the Journal of Applied Physics, researchers present a tutorial in which they explore a promising alternative called plasma-enabled surface engineering. The technology relies on nonequilibrium plasma that produces chemical reactions to change the properties at the material surface. Reactions can be manipulated by adjusting electric power for surface activation, coating deposition, and surface nanostructuring of virtually any solid material.
Resolving the black hole 'fuzzball or wormhole' debate
Black holes really are giant fuzzballs, a new study says. The study attempts to put to rest the debate over Stephen Hawking's famous information paradox, the problem created by Hawking's conclusion that any data that enters a black hole can never leave.
Top-10 Areas of Amazing Science at Brookhaven Lab in 2021
Research at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory spans scales from the cosmic to subatomic, advancing our understanding of the world around and within us. Looking for discoveries that spark transformational technologies? We've got those too! Here's our 2021 recap of important discoveries and most-read stories in 10 areas of amazing science at Brookhaven Lab.
Using magnets to toggle nanolasers leads to better photonics
Controlling nanolasers with magnets lays the groundwork for more robust optical signalling
Quantum Marbles in a Bowl of Light
German and Israeli physicists have devised an elegant experiment to answer which factors determine how fast a quantum computer can perform its calculations.
Department of Energy Announces $35 Million for Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC) Partnership in Nuclear Physics
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced $35 million for research in computation and simulation techniques and tools to understand the nucleon structure, nuclear matter, and strong force via collaborations that enable effective use of DOE high performance computers.
Jesse Thaler: Then and Now / 2011 Early Career Award Winner
At MIT, associate professor Jesse Thaler develops new ways to analyze and interpret particle collision data from experiments like the Large Hadron Collider, with the ultimate goal of advancing our knowledge of fundamental physics.
Scientists at PPPL and Princeton University demonstrate a novel rocket for deep-space exploration
The growing interest in deep-space exploration has sparked the need for powerful long-lived rocket systems to drive spacecraft through the cosmos. Scientists at PPPL have developed a tiny version of a Hall thruster propulsion system that increases the lifetime of the rocket and produces high power.
New technique tunes into graphene nanoribbons' electronic potential
Researchers at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have discovered how to directly measure the unique magnetic properties of superthin graphene nanoribbons. The breakthrough could lead to high-speed, low-power nanoscale data storage technologies.
Wandering celestial bodies provide a glimpse into the formation of stars and planets
With observations of one of the closest star-forming regions to the sun a team of international astronomers discovered the largest population of free-floating planets. These celestial bodies do not revolve around a star and are very hard to find due to their very low brightness.
Revealing Classic Physics Embedded in James Joyce's 'Ulysses'
James Joyce's "Ulysses" contains a surprising amount of 19th-century classical physics, according to Harry Manos, faculty member at Los Angeles City College. In The Physics Teacher, Manos reveals several connections that have not been analyzed before in the Joycean literature between classic physics prevalent during that time and various passages of the book. "'Ulysses' exemplifies what physics students and teachers should realize -- namely, physics and literature are not mutually exclusive," Manos said.
Creating invisibility with superconducting materials
Invisibility devices may soon no longer be the stuff of science fiction.