Heavy Particles Get Caught Up in the Flow
First direct measurement show how heavy particles containing a charm quark get caught up in the flow of early universe particle soup.
Seeing Between the Atoms
New detector enables electron microscope imaging at record-breaking resolution.
The Next Phase: Using Neural Networks to Identify Gas-Phase Molecules
Argonne scientists have developed a neural network that can identify the structure of molecules in the gas phase, offering a novel technique for national security and pharmaceutical applications.
Scaling Up Single-Crystal Graphene
New method can make films of atomically thin carbon that are over a foot long.
Detecting Hydrogen Using the Extraordinary Hall Effect in Cobalt-Palladium Thin Films
Scientists looking to hydrogen as a next-generation clean energy source are developing hydrogen-sensing technologies, the most common of which uses palladium-based thin films because palladium readily absorbs hydrogen gas. However, it also readily absorbs other gases, decreasing the overall efficiency of these sensors. Researchers conducted a systematic study of hydrogen detection using the Extraordinary Hall Effect to measure the hydrogen magnetization response in cobalt-palladium thin films, and reports in the Journal of Applied Physics.
A Trick of the Light
Argonne researchers are using nanoparticles to make photodetectors better able to handle the ultraviolet radiation produced in high-energy physics experiments.
Separating the Sound from the Noise in Hot Plasma Fusion
For fusion power plants to be effective, scientists must find a way to trigger the low-to-high confinement transition, or "L-H transition" for short. Scientists have observed that the L-H transition is always associated with zonal flows of plasma. Theoretically, zonal flows in a plasma consist of both a stationary flow with a near-zero frequency and one that oscillates at a higher frequency called the geodesic acoustic mode. For the first time, researchers have detected GAM at two different points simultaneously within the reactor. This new experimental setup will be a useful diagnostic tool for investigating the physics of zonal flows, and their role in the L-H transition. The researchers report these findings in a new paper published in Physics of Plasmas.
Engage Engines! New Research Illuminates Complex Processes Inside Plasma Propulsion Systems for Satellites
New research involving computer simulations gives physicists confidence that they can peer into the inner workings of plasma thrusters.
Cracking the Code to Soot Formation
The longstanding mystery of soot formation, which combustion scientists have been trying to explain for decades, appears to be finally solved, thanks to research led by Sandia National Laboratories.Soot is ubiquitous and has large detrimental effects on human health, agriculture, energy-consumption efficiency, climate and air quality.
Discovered: Optimal Magnetic Fields for Suppressing Instabilities in Tokamaks
Embargoed news release reports discovery of important new method for reducing instabilities in fusion plasmas without triggering fresh instabilities that can damage a fusion facility's walls.
Researchers Discover How Caged Molecules 'Rattle and Sing'
A team of energy researchers from the University of Minnesota and University of Massachusetts Amherst has discovered that molecular motion can be predicted with high accuracy when confining molecules in small nanocages. The discovery could improve production of fuels and chemicals.
New Electron Glasses Sharpen Our View of Atomic-Scale Features
A new approach to atom probe tomography promises more precise and accurate measurements vital to semiconductors used in computers, lasers, detectors, and more.
Getting an Up-Close, 3-D View of Gold Nanostars
Scientists can now measure 3-D structures of tiny particles with properties that hold promise for advanced sensors and diagnostics.
Coal Plant Offsets with Carbon Capture Means Covering 89 Percent of the U.S. In Forests
Researchers found that using bio-sequestration to capture carbon produced by U.S. coal-fired plants even after carbon capture and storage would require using 62 percent of the nation's arable land for that process, or 89 percent of all U.S. land with average forest cover. In comparison, offsetting the amount of carbon produced by manufacturing solar panels is 13 times less land, making it a far more viable option.
Small, Short-Lived Drops of Early Universe Matter
Particle flow patterns suggest even small-scale collisions create drops of early universe quark-gluon plasma.
Tuning Terahertz Beams with Nanoparticles
Scientists uncover a way to control terahertz radiation using tiny engineered particles in a magnetic field, potentially opening the doors for better medical and environmental sensors.
Berkeley Lab, Intel, Cray Harness the Power of Deep Learning to Better Understand the Universe
A collaboration between computational scientists at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center and engineers at Intel and Cray has yielded another first in the quest to apply deep learning to data-intensive science: CosmoFlow, the first large-scale science application to use the TensorFlow framework on a CPU-based high performance computing platform with synchronous training.
Unraveling How Spiderwebs Absorb Energy
Spiderwebs can withstand a predator's impact while still helping catch and detect small prey. Spiders architect these lightweight networks for strength and elasticity using different silks and geometric structures. Recently, researchers unraveled a new energy absorption mechanism that explains how spiderwebs can be simultaneously sensitive and impact-resistant. The research team reports their findings in Applied Physics Letters.
Modular Fluidic System Developed to Supply Radioisotope Used in Targeted Alpha Therapy
Laboratory automation applied to complex radiochemical isolation of astatine-211 from cyclotron-bombarded targets.
Argonne's New Combustion Synthesis Research Facility Heats Up High-Throughput Manufacturing of Nanomaterials
Argonne announces the availability of a new manufacturing technology that simplifies the manufacture of nanomaterials in high volumes. Known as Flame Spray Pyrolysis (FSP), the technology offers benefits over traditional methods used to manufacture the particle-based substances that are critical to producing a wide range of industrial materials.
Story Tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, September 2018
ORNL story tips: Lab, field tests show improved building insulation performance; ORNL-developed software runs quantum programs on multiple quantum computers; ORNL moved single atoms below a crystal's surface; certain bacteria turns mercury into methylmercury at varying rates across species; ORNL hosts Molten Salt Reactor Workshop in Oct.
Changing the type of silicon etching drops solar power costs by more than 10 percent
Michigan Technological University and Aalto University researchers have found that using dry etched black silicon for passive emitter rear cell (PERC) solar cells increases the cost of individual cell production by 15.8 percent to 25.1 percent, but reduces the cost per unit power by 10.8 percent over those for industrial Czochralski silicon.
Cannibalistic Materials Feed on Themselves to Grow New Nanostructures
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory induced a two-dimensional material to cannibalize itself for atomic "building blocks" from which stable structures formed. The findings provide insights that may improve design of 2D materials for fast-charging energy-storage and electronic devices.
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Scientists Predict Superelastic Properties in a Group of Iron-Based Superconductors
A collaboration between scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory and the Institute for Theoretical Physics at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main has computationally predicted a number of unique properties in a group of iron-based superconductors, including room-temperature super-elasticity.
Highest Precision Prediction of Muon "Wobble"
Comparing new prediction to measurements of muons' precession could potentially help scientists discover new subatomic particles.