Deep Learning Model Overcomes the Challenge of Real-World Measurements of Isotope Production Target Cooling Systems
Isotope production facilities depend on cooling for proper function of target systems during irradiation. Examining these systems is challenging due to high radiation levels during target irradiation that make real-world measurements impossible.
Using ORNL's Frontier supercomputer, researchers discover new clues to improving fusion confinement
A new study conducted on the Frontier supercomputer gave researchers new clues to improving fusion confinement. This research, in collaboration with General Atomics and UC San Diego, uncovered that the interaction between ions and electrons near the tokamak's edge can unexpectedly increase turbulence, challenging previous assumptions about how to optimize plasma confinement for efficient nuclear fusion.
How Sticky Is Dense Nuclear Matter?
Theorists have performed the first systematic study of whether and how the viscosity of quark gluon plasma from heavy nuclei collisions changes over a wide range of collision energies. The calculations predict that the fluid's viscosity increases with net-baryon density. The results will help researchers probe the entire phase diagram of nuclear matter.
Revived technology used to count individual photons from distant galaxies
Enabled by a U.S. Department of Energy program, a collaboration of scientists from Fermilab, UChicago, NOIRLab and other institutions demonstrated that skipper-CCD detectors can be utilized to improve cosmology research.
Hardy transistor material could be game-changer for nuclear reactor safety monitoring
The safety and efficiency of a large, complex nuclear reactor can be enhanced by hardware as simple as a tiny sensor that monitors a cooling system. That's why researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory are working to make those basic sensors more accurate by pairing them with electronics that can withstand the intense radiation inside a reactor.
Researchers find unexpected excitations in a Kagome layered material
Researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy Ames National Laboratory have discovered an unexpected chiral excitation in the kagome layered topological magnet TbMn6Sn6.
Scientists discover new behavior of membranes that could lead to unprecedented separations
Argonne scientists have used isoporous membranes -- membranes with pores of equal size and shape -- and recirculation to create separations at the nanoscale that overcome previous limitations.
New Experimental Results Set the Stage for Understanding the Mysterious History of NGC 2419
The NGC 2419 globular cluster contains potassium and magnesium in ratios not found in other, similar globular clusters. Scientists have so far been unable to find the source for this unexpected pattern. However, previous uncertainties in the potassium-hydrogen fusion reactions hindered the predictions of stellar models.
Polyphase wireless power transfer system achieves 270-kilowatt charge, sets another world record for electric light-duty passenger vehicles
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have successfully demonstrated the first 270-kW wireless power transfer to a light-duty electric vehicle. The demonstration used a Porsche Taycan and was conducted in collaboration with Volkswagen Group of America using the ORNL-developed polyphase wireless charging system.
Unveiling How Heat Moves in Materials with Atomic-Scale Resolution
Understanding how materials can convert heat into electricity benefits from a view of those materials at the atomic scale. New research examined how the vibrational modes called phonons work in nanostructures and the interfaces between materials to more fully understand how heat transfers in those materials.
New NOvA results add to mystery of neutrinos
The international collaboration presented their first results with new data in four years, featuring a new low-energy sample of electron neutrinos and a dataset doubled in size.
Unlocking the mystery behind the performance decline in a promising cathode material
Researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory have discovered the main reason why and how one of the more promising new cathode materials degrades with repeated cycling of lithium-ion batteries. The team's new analysis method was key to the discovery.
What If a Nonmagnetic Material Could Be Magnetic?
Quantum information devices need particles to be synchronized in space and time. In nickel molybdate (Ni2Mo3O8), nickel ions (Ni2+) form a triangular array of tetrahedrons and octahedrons with opposing magnetic spins. Electric fields in Ni2Mo3O8 induce parallel alignment of the spins; this alignment changes with time, producing spin excitons.
Decoding reactive species in molten salts
By unraveling vibrational signatures and observing ion exchanges, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory team revealed how chemical species form in a highly reactive molten salt mixture of aluminum chloride and potassium chloride.
A First Look Inside Radium's Solid-State Chemistry
: For the first time, scientists measured radium's bonding interactions with oxygen atoms in an organic molecule. This finding will aid researchers developing chelators for the delivery of radium isotopes for cancer treatment. The results are important in part because they revealed that radium is less similar than expected to barium, which is often used as a substitute for radium during chelator development.
AI approach elevates plasma performance and stability across fusion devices
A team of fusion researchers led by engineers at Princeton University and the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have successfully deployed machine learning methods to suppress harmful edge instabilities -- without sacrificing plasma performance. The research team demonstrated the highest fusion performance without the presence of edge bursts at two different fusion facilities -- each with its own set of operating parameters.
Metal Alloys that Can Take the Heat
Complex metal alloys enter a new era of predictive design for aerospace and other high-temperature applications.
Building energy around changing climate
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed free data sets to estimate how much energy any building in the contiguous U.S. will use in 2100. These data sets provide planners a way to anticipate future energy needs as the climate changes.
Researchers make 'green' floor to replace steel
Researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Maine have designed and 3D-printed a single-piece, recyclable natural-material floor panel tested to be strong enough to replace construction materials like steel. The project is part of the Sustainable Materials & Manufacturing Alliance for Renewable Technologies, or SM2ART, program. The SM2ART team previously constructed BioHome3D, the nation's first additively manufactured home made entirely from biologically based materials.
A novel spray device helps researchers capture fast-moving cell processes
Researchers figured out how to spray and freeze a cell sample in its natural state in milliseconds, helping them capture basic biological processes in unprecedented detail.
Scientists find new way to enhance durability of lithium batteries
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have created a new nickel-rich cathode for lithium-ion batteries that both stores more energy and is more durable than conventional cathodes.
Scientists Engineer Yellow-seeded Camelina with High Oil Output
Using tools of modern genetics, plant biochemists have produced a new high-yielding oilseed crop variety -- a yellow-seeded variety of Camelina sativa, a close relative of canola, that accumulates 21.4% more oil than ordinary camelina.
New Technique Could Help Build Quantum Computers of the Future
Researchers have demonstrated a new method that could enable the large-scale manufacturing of optical qubits. The work is a major advancement that could bring us closer to a scalable quantum computer.
Scientists Make and Test Efficient Water-Splitting Catalyst Predicted by Theory
Scientists have developed a new efficient catalyst for the most challenging part of "water splitting," a series of two simultaneous electrochemical reactions that generate hydrogen gas, a green energy source, from water. The new catalyst was designed based on theoretical predictions and validated in laboratory tests and industrially relevant demonstrations.
New plasma escape mechanism could protect fusion vessels from excessive heat
The exhaust heat generated by a fusing plasma in a commercial-scale reactor may not be as damaging to the vessel's innards as once thought, according to new research about escaping plasma particles made by researchers at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and ITER Organization (ITER).