DOE names six Argonne scientists to receive Early Career Research Program awards
Six Argonne scientists receive Department of Energy's Early Career Research Program Awards.
Shiny mega-crystals that build themselves
An international team led by Empa and ETH Zurich researchers is playing with shape-engineered nanoscale building blocks that are up to 100-times larger than atoms and ions. And although these nano "Lego bricks" interact with each other with forces vastly different and much weaker than those holding atoms and ions together, they form crystals all by themselves, the structures of which resemble the ones of natural minerals. These new mega-crystals or superlattices that are depicted on the cover of the latest issue of "Nature" exhibit unique properties such as superfluorescence - and may well usher in a new era in materials science
Unveiling what governs crystal growth
Crystals are wonders of nature and science with important applications in electronics and optics. Scientists from Argonne have new insights into how gallium nitride crystals grow. Gallium nitride crystals are in wide use in light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and may form transistors for high-power switching electronics to make electric grids more energy efficient and smarter.
Precise Measurement of Pions Confirms Understanding of Fundamental Symmetry
Scientific rules about "chiral symmetry" predict the existence of subatomic particles called pions. The lifetime of a neutrally charged pion is tied to breaking of chiral symmetry. Until recently, measurements of this lifetime have been much less precise than calculations from theory. Physicists have now measured a pion's lifetime more precisely than ever before.
Mobility data reveals universal law of visitation in cities
New research published in Nature provides a powerful yet surprisingly simple way to determine the number of visitors to any location in a city.
Experimental Impact Mechanics Lab at Sandia bars none
Sandia Labs' Experimental Impact Mechanics Lab packs a world-class punch in 200-plus square feet of weights, rods, cables, bars, heaters, compressors and high-speed cameras.
Study reveals new details on what happened in the first microsecond of Big Bang
About 14 billion years ago, our universe changed from being a lot hotter and denser to expanding radically - a process that scientists have named 'The Big Bang'.
Probing Deeper into Origins of Cosmic Rays
Researchers know cosmic rays originate from the multitude of stars in the Milky Way and other galaxies. The difficulty is tracing the particles to specific sources, because the turbulence of interstellar gas, plasma, and dust causes them to scatter and rescatter in different directions. In AIP Advances, researchers developed a simulation model to better understand these and other cosmic ray transport characteristics, with the goal of developing algorithms to enhance existing detection techniques.
Silver Attacks Bacteria, Gets 'Consumed'
As antibiotic-resistant bacteria become more prevalent, silver has seen steep growth in its use in things like antibacterial coatings. Still, a better understanding can provide clues on how to best apply it. In Chemical Physics Reviews, researchers monitored the interaction of silver nanoparticles with a nearby E. coli culture and found the silver undergoes several dramatic changes. Most notably, the E. coli cells caused substantial transformations in the size and shape of the silver particles.
"Bite" defects in bottom-up graphene nanoribbons
Scientists at Empa and EPFL have identified a new type of defect as the most common source of disorder in on-surface synthesized graphene nanoribbons, a novel class of carbon-based materials that may prove extremely useful in next-generation electronic devices. The researchers identified the atomic structure of these so-called "bite" defects and investigated their effect on quantum electronic transport. These kinds of defective zigzag-edged nanoribbons may provide suitable platforms for certain applications in spintronics.
Scientists recognise intruders in noise
A team of scientists from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology and the Tupolev Kazan National Research Technological University is developing a mathematical apparatus that could lead to a breakthrough in network security. The results of the work have been published in the journal Mathematics.
New insights into behavior of ultra-dense star core
Neutron stars are often gravitationally locked with another star and over time siphon off some of the other star's outermost surfaces. Now, a scientist at PPPL has helped explain two phenomena associated with this process that have long baffled researchers.
Researchers Find Semimetal That Clings to a Quantum Precipice
In an open access paper published in Science Advances, Johns Hopkins physicists and colleagues at Rice University, the Vienna University of Technology (TU Wien), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), present experimental evidence of naturally occurring quantum criticality in a material.
New quantum material discovered
In everyday life, phase transitions usually have to do with temperature changes - for example, when an ice cube gets warmer and melts.
36 Dwarf Galaxies Had Simultaneous "Baby Boom" of New Stars
Three dozen dwarf galaxies far from each other had a simultaneous "baby boom" of new stars, an unexpected discovery that challenges current theories on how galaxies grow and may enhance our understanding of the universe. Galaxies more than 1 million light-years apart should have completely independent lives in terms of when they give birth to new stars. But galaxies separated by up to 13 million light-years slowed down and then simultaneously accelerated their birth rate of stars, according to a Rutgers-led study published in the Astrophysical Journal.
Face masks effectively limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission
'Don't forget the mask' - although most people nowadays follow this advice, professionals express different opinions about the effectiveness of face masks.
ICARUS gets ready to fly
The ICARUS detector, part of Fermilab's Short-Baseline Neutrino Program, will officially start its hunt for elusive sterile neutrinos this fall. The international collaboration led by Nobel laureate Carlo Rubbia successfully brought the detector online and is now collecting test data and making final improvements.
Argonaut project launches design effort for super-cold robotics
A new robotics project named Argonaut at the Department of Energy's Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory will share that same name and spirit of adventure. Argonaut's mission will be to monitor conditions within ultracold particle detectors by voyaging into a sea of liquid argon kept at minus-193 degrees Celsius -- as cold as some of the moons of Saturn and Jupiter.
Not all theories can explain the black hole M87*
As first pointed out by the German astronomer Karl Schwarzschild, black holes bend space-time to an extreme degree due to their extraordinary concentration of mass, and heat up the matter in their vicinity so that it begins to glow.
Physics, Engineering Undergrads Receive LLNL-AIP Leadership Scholarships
The Society of Physics Students has awarded leadership scholarships to Elyzabeth Graham, Emma Moreland, and Natalie Douglass, three undergraduate members who are currently studying physics and engineering and will each receive a $2,000 scholarship. The scholarships are made possible by a gift from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for AIP-SPS members. The purpose of the LLNL-AIP leadership scholarship is to encourage the study of physics and the pursuit of higher education with a preference for those who are traditionally underrepresented in physics and astronomy, including women.
The torch is passed: Perimeter Institute names a new Board Chair
Twenty years after launching the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, founder Mike Lazaridis is confident the future looks brilliant under the guidance of his successor as Board Chair, Canadian entrepreneur Mike Serbinis.
Physicists Crack the Code to Signature Superconductor Kink Using Supercomputing
A team performed simulations on the Summit supercomputer and found that electrons in cuprates interact with phonons much more strongly than was previously thought, leading to experimentally observed "kinks" in the relationship between an electron's energy and the momentum it carries.
Single fingerprint at a crime scene detects class A drug usage
The latest findings show that with clever science, a single fingerprint left at a crime scene could be used to determine whether someone has touched or ingested class A drugs.
Neutrons piece together 40-year puzzle behind iron-iodide's mysterious magnetism
Researchers from Georgia Tech and the University of Tennessee-Knoxville uncovered hidden and unexpected quantum behavior in a simple iron-iodide material (FeI2) discovered almost a century ago. The new insights were enabled using neutron scattering experiments and theoretical physics calculations at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The team's findings solves a 40-year-old puzzle about the material's mysterious behavior and could be used as a map to unlock a treasure trove of quantum phenomena in other materials.
Electric cars: Special dyes could prevent unnecessary motor replacements
One day in the near future dyes in electric motors might indicate when cable insulation is becoming brittle and the motor needs replacing.