Splitting Water Fast! Catalyst Works Faster than Mother Nature
Design principles lead to a catalyst that splits water in a low pH environment, vital for generating solar fuels.
Sea Quark Spin Surprise!
Antiquark spin contribution to proton spin depends on flavor, which could help unlock secrets about the nuclear structure of atoms that make up nearly all visible matter in our universe.
The Weak Side of the Proton
A precision measurement of the proton's weak charge narrows the search for new physics.
Electric Skyrmions Charge Ahead for Next-Generation Data Storage
A team of researchers led by Berkeley Lab has observed chirality for the first time in polar skyrmions in a material with reversible electrical properties - a combination that could lead to more powerful data storage devices that continue to hold information, even after they've been turned off.
CEBAF Turns on the Charm
The world's most advanced particle accelerator for investigating the quark structure of the atom's nucleus has just charmed physicists with a new capability. The production of charm quarks in J/ψ (J/psi) particles by CEBAF at the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility confirms that the facility has expanded the realm of precision nuclear physics research with electron beams to higher energies.
Fast-Moving Pairs May Solve 35-Year-Old Mystery
Physicists develop a universal mathematical description that suggests that proton-neutron pairs in a nucleus may explain why their associated quarks have lower average momenta than predicted.
Artificial intelligence accelerates efforts to develop clean, virtually limitless fusion energy
Feature describes Nature paper on opening a new chapter in fusion research with artificial intelligence.
Team Takes Fluoride from Taps and Toothpaste to Batteries
With user facilities, researchers devise novel battery chemistries to help make fluoride batteries a reality.
Quarks Under Pressure in the Proton
Pressure in the middle of a proton is about 10 times higher than in a neutron star.
Physicists Improve Understanding of Heat and Particle Flow in the Edge of a Fusion Device
PPPL physicists have discovered valuable information about how plasma flows at the edge inside doughnut-shaped fusion devices. The findings mark an encouraging sign for the development of machines to produce fusion energy for generating electricity without creating long-term hazardous waste.
Magnetic Levitation of Ultracold Neutrons Yields New Measurement of the Neutron Lifetime
Storing extremely slow neutrons in a novel trap enables precise measurement of a basic property of particle physics.
SLAC's High-Speed 'Electron Camera' Films Molecular Movie in HD
With an extremely fast "electron camera" at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, researchers have made the first high-definition "movie" of ring-shaped molecules breaking open in response to light. The results could further our understanding of similar reactions with vital roles in chemistry, such as the production of vitamin D in our bodies.
New Molecular Blueprint Aids Study of Photosynthesis
Insights into how nature converts carbon dioxide into sugar could help scientists develop crops that produce fuels and other products.
SLAC develops novel compact antenna for communicating where radios fail
A new type of pocket-sized antenna, developed at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, could enable mobile communication in situations where conventional radios don't work, such as under water, through the ground and over very long distances through air.
Catching Fast Changes in Excited Molecules
Scientists observe and control molecular and atomic dynamics at the fastest timescales to date.
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New microscopy method provides more details about nanocomposites
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have developed a new microscopy approach for imaging gel nanocomposites in their natural state, which will reveal more useful information about their assembly and properties.
Getting to the Root of Plant Simulations
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory developed a new algorithm to bolster what once were static models of root dynamics, providing researchers a clearer picture of what's really happening beneath the soil. The work, published in the January 28 issue of the Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, describes the dynamic root model and its use with the Energy Exascale Earth System Land Model (ELM), a component of the DOE's larger Energy Exascale Earth System Model (E3SM).
Atomic Maps Reveal How Iron Rusts
Scientists discovered how iron atoms continually re-arrange on surfaces, offering insights into metal corrosion and soil remediation.
Strain and Defects Grow in Tiny Magnetite Crystals When Oxidized
Detailed 3D images show how nanoparticles change in reactions that purify contaminated water or power recyclable geochemical batteries.
'Electron Shuttle' Protein Plays Key Role in Plant Cell-Wall Construction
Scientists studying plant cell walls have discovered mechanistic details of a protein involved in the assembly of lignin, a key cell-wall component. The protein acts as a targeted "electron shuttle," delivering the "fuel" that drives the construction of one specific lignin building block. Controlling the flow of electrons by targeting shuttle proteins could be a new strategy for guiding plants to make desired products.
Newly Devised Static Negative Capacitor Could Improve Computing
In a new study, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, together with collaborators in France and Russia, have created a permanent static "negative capacitor," a device believed to have been in violation of physical laws until about a decade ago.
A New View on a Very Old Problem: Evolution of the Photochemical Reaction Centers
Researchers offer insights into how a key piece of photosynthetic machinery changed over 3 billion years.
Squeezed nanocrystals: A new model predicts their shape when blanketed under graphene
In a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory and Northeastern University, scientists have developed a model for predicting the shape of metal nanocrystals or "islands" sandwiched between or below two-dimensional (2D) materials such as graphene. The advance moves 2D quantum materials a step closer to applications in electronics.
Ghostly X-ray images could provide key info for analyzing X-ray laser experiments
Computer simulations by scientists from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory suggest that a new method could turn random fluctuations in the intensity of laser pulses from a nuisance into an advantage, facilitating studies of these fundamental interactions.
Scientists Pioneer New Low-Temperature Chemical Conversion Process
In a recent study from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, chemists have identified a way to convert cyclohexane to cyclohexene or cyclohexadiene, important chemicals in a wide range of industrial processes.