Exploring the Matter That Filled the Early Universe
Theorists and scientists conducting experiments that recreate matter as it existed in the very early universe are gathered in Chicago this week to present and discuss their latest results.
Supercomputers for Quantum Computers
Researchers simulate the design of new quantum bits for easier engineering of quantum computers.
First Light Shines in Instrument Designed to Solve the Neutrino Controversy
KATRIN project achieves transmission of electrons through completed apparatus, opening new doors to understanding the universe.
Chemistry for the Bottom of the Periodic Table
Techniques to investigate chemical properties of super heavy elements lead to improved methods for separating certain metals. This work could also lead to better methods of re-using indium, a metal that is part of flat-panel displays but is not currently mined in the US.
Bacteria's Secret Weapon
Scientists showed that an enzyme, from the bacterial glycoside hydrolase family 12, plays an unexpectedly important role in breaking down a crystalline form of cellulose. Breaking down cellulose is a major challenge in developing more efficient strategies for creating biofuels.
More Steps, Faster Results
New method lets supercomputers model key details of greenhouse gases and molecules relevant to automobile combustion.
Machine Learning Method Accurately Predicts Metallic Defects
For the first time, Berkeley Lab researchers have built and trained machine learning algorithms to predict defect behavior in certain intermetallic compounds with high accuracy. This method will accelerate research of new advanced alloys and lightweight new materials for applications spanning automotive to aerospace and much more.
Thirdhand Smoke Affects Weight, Blood Cell Development in Mice
A new Berkeley Lab-led study found that the sticky residue left behind by tobacco smoke led to changes in weight and blood cell count in mice. These latest findings add to a growing body of evidence that thirdhand smoke exposure may be harmful.
Supercomputing, Experiment Combine for First Look at Magnetism of Real Nanoparticle
Researchers working with magnetic nanoparticles approached computational scientists at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory to help solve a unique problem: to model magnetism at the atomic level using experimental data from a real nanoparticle.
SLAC Study Helps Explain Why Uranium Persists in Groundwater at Former Mining Sites
A recent study led by scientists at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory helps describe how uranium cycles through the environment at former uranium mining sites and why it can be difficult to remove.
Story Tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, February 2017
Vacuum insulation panels prove cost-effective solution for DOD; ORNL noise filter puts end to unwanted EMI; NYC focus of ORNL green commuting study; ORNL process speeds battery production process; ORNL study sheds new light on traditional welding technique
Simulations Reveal the Invisible Chaos of Superluminous Supernovae
To better understand the physical conditions that create superluminious supernova, astrophysicists are running 2D simulations of these events using supercomputers at National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) developed CASTRO code.
Neutrons Identify Critical Details in Bacterial Enzyme Implicated in Gastric Cancer
Neutron analysis at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is helping researchers better understand a key enzyme found in a bacterium known to cause stomach cancer. Understanding the details of this enzyme, and thus the Helicobacter pylori bacteria's metabolism and biological pathways, could be central to developing drugs that act against H. pylori, but that do not attack the stomach's useful bacteria.
ORNL Researchers Break Data Transfer Efficiency Record
Researchers have set a new record in the transfer of information via superdense coding, a process by which the properties of particles like photons, protons and electrons are used to store as much information as possible.
Researchers Flip Script for Li-Ion Electrolytes to Simulate Better Batteries
A team led by the California Institute of Technology's (Caltech's) Thomas Miller used the Cray XK7 Titan supercomputer at the US Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to identify potential electrolyte materials and predict which ones could enhance the performance of lithium-ion batteries. Using Titan, the researchers ran hundreds of simulations--each consisting of thousands of atoms--on possible new electrolytes. The work led them to the identification of new electrolytes with promising properties for lithium-ion conduction.
The Shape of Melting in Two Dimensions
As part of her team's research into matter's tendency to self-organize, Sharon Glotzer of the University of Michigan ran a series of hard particle simulations to study melting in two-dimensional (2-D) systems. Specifically, the team explored how particle shape affects the physics of a 2-D solid-to-fluid melting transition.
Scientists Determine Precise 3-D Location and Identity of All 23,000 Atoms in a Nanoparticle
Scientists used one of the world's most powerful electron microscopes to map the precise location and chemical type of 23,000 atoms in an extremely small particle made of iron and platinum. Insights gained from the particle's structure could lead to new ways to improve its magnetic performance for use in high-density, next-generation hard drives.
High-Resolution Imaging Reveals New Understanding of Battery Cathode Particles
Using advanced imaging techniques, scientists at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have been able to observe what exactly happens inside a cathode particle as lithium-ion batteries are charged and discharged.
Vitamin B12: Power Broker to the Microbes
In the microbial world, vitamin B12 is a hot commodity. It turns out that vitamin B12, a substance produced by only a few organisms but needed by nearly all of them, wields great power in microbial communities - ubiquitous structures that affect energy and food production, the environment, and human health.
A New World Discovered Underground
One of the most detailed genetic studies of any ecosystem to date has uncovered incredible biological diversity among subsurface bacteria. This research has nearly doubled the number of known bacterial groups.
PPPL Scientist Uncovers Physics Behind Plasma-Etching Process
PPPL physicist Igor Kaganovich and collaborators have uncovered some of the physics that make possible the etching of silicon computer chips, which power cell phones, computers, and a huge range of electronic devices.
For This Metal, Electricity Flows, But Not the Heat
Berkeley scientists have discovered that electrons in vanadium dioxide can conduct electricity without conducting heat, an exotic property in an unconventional material. The characteristic could lead to applications in thermoelectrics and window coatings.
The Contradictory Catalyst
Using a natural catalyst from bacteria for inspiration, researchers have now reported the fastest synthetic catalysts to date for hydrogen production-- producing 45 million hydrogen molecules per second.
PPPL Physicist Uncovers Clues to Mechanism Behind Magnetic Reconnection
PPPL physicist Fatima Ebrahimi has published a paper showing that magnetic reconnection -- the process in which magnetic field lines snap together and release energy -- can be triggered by motion in nearby magnetic fields.
Seeking Structure with Metagenome Sequences
In the January 20, 2017 issue of Science, University of Washington-led team, in collaboration with researchers at the DOE Joint Genome Institute, reports that structural models have been generated for 12 percent of the protein families that had previously had no structural information available.