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    Story Tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, November 2018

    Story Tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, November 2018

    ORNL story tips: ORNL's simulation shows 40 percent fuel savings when cars drive themselves; colliding tin isotopes helps scientists better understand unstable nuclei in exploding stars; new method to control HVACs in buildings provides grid stability, occupant comfort; AK Steel uses neutrons to see how new steel for vehicle components performs during various manufacturing processes.

    Scientists make first detailed measurements of key factors related to high-temperature superconductivity

    Scientists make first detailed measurements of key factors related to high-temperature superconductivity

    In independent studies reported in Science and Nature, scientists from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University report two important advances: They measured collective vibrations of electrons for the first time and showed how collective interactions of the electrons with other factors appear to boost superconductivity.

    $6.8M initiative to enable American laser renaissance

    $6.8M initiative to enable American laser renaissance

    In an effort to improve American competitiveness in high-intensity laser research, the Department of Energy has established LaserNetUS, a $6.8 million initiative that involves the University of Michigan--one of the field's pioneers.

    Photosynthesis Like a Moss

    Photosynthesis Like a Moss

    Moss evolved after algae but before vascular land plants, such as ferns and trees, making them an interesting target for scientists studying photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight to fuel. Now researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have made a discovery that could shed light on how plants evolved to move from the ocean to land.

    Study: Want to Make Hydrogen Fuel Cells More Affordable? Try Manganese

    Study: Want to Make Hydrogen Fuel Cells More Affordable? Try Manganese

    Manganese could advance one of the most promising sources of renewable energy: hydrogen fuel cells. In a study published today (Oct. 29, 2018) in Nature Catalysis, a University at Buffalo-led research team reports on catalysts made from the widely available and inexpensive metal. The advancement could eventually help solve hydrogen fuel cells' most frustrating problem: namely, they're not affordable because most catalysts are made with platinum, which is both rare and expensive.

    Finally, a Robust Fuel Cell that Runs on Methane at Practical Temperatures

    Finally, a Robust Fuel Cell that Runs on Methane at Practical Temperatures

    Either exorbitantly expensive fuel or insanely hot temperatures have made fuel cells a boutique proposition, but now there's one that runs on cheap methane and at much lower temperatures. This is a practical, affordable fuel cell and a "sensation in our world," the engineers say.

    A Solar Cell That Does Double Duty for Renewable Energy

    A Solar Cell That Does Double Duty for Renewable Energy

    Researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis have developed an artificial photosynthesis device called a "hybrid photoelectrochemical and voltaic cell" that turns sunlight and water into two types of energy - hydrogen fuel and electricity.

    Improving Climate Models to Account for Plant Behavior Yields 'Goodish' News

    Improving Climate Models to Account for Plant Behavior Yields 'Goodish' News

    Climate scientists have not been properly accounting for what plants do at night, and that, it turns out, is a mistake. A new study from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has found that plant nutrient uptake in the absence of photosynthesis affects greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere.

    New driverless car technology could make traffic lights and speeding tickets obsolete

    New driverless car technology could make traffic lights and speeding tickets obsolete

    New driverless car technologies developed at a University of Delaware lab could lead to a world without traffic lights and speeding tickets. Researchers hope the innovations will bring about the development of driverless cars that use 19 to 22 percent less fuel.

    Argonne Scientists Create New Oil-Resistant Filter Technology

    Argonne Scientists Create New Oil-Resistant Filter Technology

    A novel new way to keep oil from clogging filters and equipment

    Whiskers, Surface Growth and Dendrites in Lithium Batteries

    Whiskers, Surface Growth and Dendrites in Lithium Batteries

    Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis take a closer look at lithium metal plating and make some surprising findings that might lead to the next generation of batteries.

    Scientists Unravel the Mysteries of Polymer Strands in Fuel Cells

    Scientists Unravel the Mysteries of Polymer Strands in Fuel Cells

    Fuel cell efficiency of hydrogen fuel cells decreases as the Nafion membrane, used to separate the anode and cathode within a fuel cell, swells as it interacts with water. Russian and Australian researchers have now shown that this Nafion separator membrane partially unwinds some of its constituent fibers, which then protrude away from the surface into the bulk water phase for hundreds of microns. Their results were published in this week's Journal of Chemical Physics.

    Seeing a Salt Solution's Structure Supports One Hypothesis About How Minerals Form

    Seeing a Salt Solution's Structure Supports One Hypothesis About How Minerals Form

    Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists used neutrons, isotopes and simulations to "see" the atomic structure of a saturated solution and found evidence supporting one of two competing hypotheses about how ions come together to form minerals.

    New PMLD Technique Improves Tools to Form Organic Multilayers

    New PMLD Technique Improves Tools to Form Organic Multilayers

    Researchers have developed a new class of molecular layer deposition chemistry that paves the way for a new photoactivated molecular layer deposition technique. They report that their new method will expand the tool kit for forming covalently bound organic multilayers at surfaces. These emerging deposition techniques have enabled engineers to produce organic thin films with improved conformality. Richard Closser, Stanford University, will present the findings at the AVS 65th International Symposium and Exhibition, Oct. 21-26, 2018.

    Spotlighting Differences in Closely-Related Species

    Spotlighting Differences in Closely-Related Species

    Aspergillus fungi play roles in fields including bioenergy, health, and biotechnology. In Nature Genetics, a team led by scientists at the Technical University of Denmark, the DOE Joint Genome Institute, and the Joint Bioenergy Institute, present the first large analysis of an Aspergillus fungal subgroup, section Nigri.

    Researchers switch material from one state to another with a single flash of light

    Researchers switch material from one state to another with a single flash of light

    Scientists from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have demonstrated a surprisingly simple way of flipping a material from one state into another, and then back again, with single flashes of laser light.

    The Stories Behind the Science: How Does the Ocean's Saltiness Affect Tropical Storms?

    The Stories Behind the Science: How Does the Ocean's Saltiness Affect Tropical Storms?

    Two researchers with personal experience of hurricanes set out to investigate the role of an underestimated factor in storm's strength - salinity. They found that salinity plays a larger role than anyone thought, including them.

    Surprise finding: Discovering a previously unknown role for a source of magnetic fields

    Surprise finding: Discovering a previously unknown role for a source of magnetic fields

    Feature describes unexpected discovery of a role the process that seeds magnetic fields plays in mediating a phenomenon that occurs throughout the universe and can disrupt cell phone service and knock out power grids on Earth.

    Genetic behavior reveals cause of death in poplars essential to ecosystems, industry

    Genetic behavior reveals cause of death in poplars essential to ecosystems, industry

    Scientists studying a valuable, but vulnerable, species of poplar have identified the genetic mechanism responsible for the species' inability to resist a pervasive and deadly disease. Their finding could lead to more successful hybrid poplar varieties for increased biofuels and forestry production and protect native trees against infection.

    Pushing the (Extra Cold) Frontiers of Superconducting Science

    Pushing the (Extra Cold) Frontiers of Superconducting Science

    Ames Laboratory has developed a method to measure magnetic properties of superconducting and magnetic materials that exhibit unusual quantum behavior at very low temperatures in high magnetic fields.

    Scientists Find Unusual Behavior in Topological Material

    Scientists Find Unusual Behavior in Topological Material

    Argonne scientists have identified a new class of topological materials made by inserting transition metal atoms into the atomic lattice of a well-known two-dimensional material.

    Wind Farms and Reducing Hurricane Precipitation

    Wind Farms and Reducing Hurricane Precipitation

    New research reveals an unexpected benefit of large-scale offshore wind farms: the ability to lessen precipitation from hurricanes.

    New simulations confirm efficiency of waste-removal process in plasma device

    New simulations confirm efficiency of waste-removal process in plasma device

    PPPL scientists have found evidence suggesting that a process could remove the unwanted ash produced during fusion reactions and make the fusion processes more efficient within a type of fusion facility known as a field-reversed configuration device.

    How Animals Use Their Tails to Swish and Swat Away Insects

    How Animals Use Their Tails to Swish and Swat Away Insects

    A new study shows how animals use their tails to keep mosquitoes at bay by combining a swish that blows away most of the biting bugs and a swat that kills the ones that get through.

    Missing gamma-ray blobs shed new light on dark matter, cosmic magnetism

    Missing gamma-ray blobs shed new light on dark matter, cosmic magnetism

    Scientists, including researchers from the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, have compiled the most detailed catalog of such blobs using eight years of data collected with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on NASA's Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope. The blobs, including 19 gamma-ray sources that weren't known to be extended before, provide crucial information on how stars are born, how they die, and how galaxies spew out matter trillions of miles into space.