Feature Channels: Materials Science

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Brookhaven Lab's Computational Science Initiative hosted its second hackathon on graphics processing units for accelerating scientific discovery.

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Researchers from the Timken Company, a leading international manufacturer of bearings, are using neutron scattering at ORNL’s High Flux Isotope Reactor to investigate how internal residual stresses can shorten the lifetime and reliability of a bearing. By mapping the stresses in these bearings, the researchers can develop computational models to learn how to reduce the amount of stress in future bearings.

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Recognizing a career highlighted by multiple biomedical engineering and materials science breakthroughs, the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) has named Jian Yang, professor of biomedical engineering, as an NAI Fellow.

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In new research from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and published in Science, scientists have identified a new catalyst that uses only about a quarter as much platinum as current technology by maximizing the effectiveness of the available platinum.

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Conventional lithium ion batteries, such as those widely used in smartphones and notebooks, have reached performance limits. Materials chemist Freddy Kleitz from the Faculty of Chemistry of the University of Vienna and international scientists have developed a new nanostructured anode material for lithium ion batteries, which extends the capacity and cycle life of the batteries.

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Within SUSU’s strategic direction entitled “Fundamental science in the sphere of providing Engineering 3.0”, an interdisciplinary project team of the university’s scientists in a record-breaking period of time (6 weeks) created Kinetic Calculation software product, which allows studying kinetics of chemical processes.

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Argonne researchers have demonstrated a new technique’s viability for membranes.

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Trestles, which was acquired more than three years ago by the Arkansas High Performance Computing Center (AHPCC) at the University of Arkansas after entering service at the San Diego Supercomputer Center in mid-2011, is still serving researchers despite many supercomputers having a useful life of only three to five years.

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Scientists of South Ural State University elaborated a unique technology for manufacture of products made of carbon graphite materials with high performance properties. The new technology will be applicable in ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, electric power industry and electrical engineering, chemistry, mechanical engineering, atom power engineering and rocket and space industry.

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Argonne and MIT look to expand how high-performance computing can advance the manufacturing ecosystem.

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Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have devised a method for using an origami-based structure to create radio frequency filters that have adjustable dimensions, enabling the devices to change which signals they block throughout a large range of frequencies.

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An experiment has demonstrated, for the first time, electronic switching in an exotic, ultrathin material that can carry a charge with nearly zero loss at room temperature. Researchers demonstrated this switching when subjecting the material to a low-current electric field.

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In the Russian Federation, the paved road network is growing 7 times less per million people than in the developed countries of Europe and in the USA. Because of the large and frequent defects of the road surface, the average speed of auto transport on Russian roads is 2-3 times slower than in the developed countries.

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Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory researchers have introduced a new class of metamaterials that can nearly instantly respond and stiffen 3D-printed structures when exposed to a magnetic field, a development that could be applied to next-generation helmets, wearable armor and a host of other innovations.

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Unexpected molecular interactions involving water clusters have a subtle, yet profound, effect on extractants picking their targets.

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The presence of hot water in a residential building and comfortable temperature in it are the primary needs of a man. However, today the breakages often occur in the system of heating or hot water supply.

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A long-standing problem in optics holds that an improved resolution in imaging is offset by a loss in the depth of focus. Now, scientists are joining computation with X-ray imaging as they develop a new and exciting technique to bypass this limitation.

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News Release RICHLAND, Wash. — A new collaborative study led by a research team at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and University of California, Los Angeles could provide engineers new design rules for creating microelectronics, membranes, and tissues, and open up better production methods for new materials.

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To understand how damage from high-energy X-rays affects imaging studies, scientists supported by the Department of Energy shot the most powerful X-ray laser in the world at a series of atoms and molecules. Surprisingly, the atoms within the molecules acted far differently than the isolated ones.

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Methods to control the ballistic movement of electrons in bi-layer graphene - called a valve and beamsplitter - could be a new way to control electron traffic in electronic devices.

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The space surrounding us is literally pierced with electromagnetic radiation and magnetic fields of natural and artificial origin. Even a short electromagnetic pulse is enough to knock equipment of any level of complexity out of operation. Candidate of Sciences (Physics and Mathematics) Aleksey Trukhanov, who is senior research fellow at the SUSU Nanotechnologies Research and Education Center, is studying electrolytic films to create electromagnetic and magnetic shields capable of neutralizing the radiation.

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A team of materials scientists from Penn State, Cornell and Argonne National Laboratory have, for the first time, visualized the 3D atomic and electron density structure of the most complex perovskite crystal structure system decoded to date.

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The geopolymer investigated in this research shows potential as a lightweight coarse aggregate for concrete, with the additional benefit of reducing the environmental impact of fly ash from coal-fired power generation.

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Scientists have demonstrated an x-ray imaging technique that could enable the development of smaller, faster, and more robust electronics that exploit electron spin.

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Hydrogen-powered vehicles emit only water vapor from their tailpipes, offering a cleaner alternative to fossil-fuel-based transportation. But for hydrogen cars to become mainstream, scientists need to develop more efficient hydrogen-storage systems. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Chemistry of Materials have used metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) to set a new record for hydrogen storage capacity under normal operating conditions.

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Even in this digital age, paper is still everywhere. Often, printed materials get used once and are then discarded, creating waste and potentially pollution. Now, scientists report in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces the development of an easy-to-make “rewritable” paper that can be drawn or printed on over and over again. The messages can last more than half a year, compared to other rewritable papers whose messages fade after a few days or a few months.

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A grant from DOE’s Technology Commercialization Fund will help researchers at Argonne and industry partners seek improvements to U.S. manufacturing by making discovery and design of new materials more efficient.

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Carson Bruns is working to put body art to use, designing high-tech inks that may one day signal your temperature or changes in blood chemistry.

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TORONTO, ON (Canada) - Cell phones - much has been written about their detrimental effects on attention spans, stress levels and dinner table conversations. People are in constant contact with their cell phones at all hours of the day. New research from the University of Toronto (U of T) suggests they could also be a source of toxic chemicals, or at least an indicator of the chemicals to which people are exposed.

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Harnessing nuclear fusion, which powers the sun and stars, to help meet earth's energy needs, is a step closer after researchers showed that using two types of imaging can help them assess the safety and reliability of parts used in a fusion energy device.

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Strong and flexible aerogels are used in a wide variety of products, from insulation for offshore oil pipelines to parts for space exploration missions. Now, aerogels are undergoing a paradigm shift due to a breakthrough in the understanding of their mechanical properties at the nanoscale level.

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ORNL solved methane mystery through tree trunk, soil study; neutrons unlock secrets of corn nanoparticles; lithium-ion battery study could inform safer designs; corrosion tests could advance molten salt reactor designs; thought leaders discuss sea of energy change at maritime risk meeting.

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University of Utah electrical and computer engineering researchers have received a $1.88 million grant to study the properties of gallium oxide, which could prove to be an effective semiconductor for high-voltage systems. Gallium oxide could lead to much more efficient power converters that would lose much less energy as heat, creating all-electric airplanes and electric trains and buses that could last much longer.

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Using a new approach to measure chemical contaminants in polar bears, scientists from Canada and the United States found a large variety of new chlorinated and fluorinated substances, including many new polychlorinated biphenyl metabolites. Worryingly, these previously unrecognized contaminants have not declined in the past decades, and many long-chain fluorinated alkyl sulfonic acids have been increasing over time, says the study published in the journal Angewandte Chemie.

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A Q&A with Ramamoorthy Ramesh on the need for next-generation computer chips

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Physicists synthesized 2-D atom-thin sheets of boron with large crystal domains, which are needed to make next-gen electronics.

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Alternative energy sources are a way to rational resource saving. Development of nanotechnology is a serious impulse for development of alternative energy sources. For several years, scientists of South Ural State University have been working on creation of solar batteries of a new type, specificity of which is organic light-sensitive material.

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The world’s leading soil scientists met at Argonne recently to discuss the importance of what’s under our feet.

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Utter the words "ocean acidification" in mixed company, and you'll probably get blank stares. Although climate change has grown steadily in the public consciousness, one of its most insidious impacts - a widespread die-off of marine ecosystems driven by carbon dioxide emissions - remains relatively unknown.

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New method takes a snapshot every millisecond of groups of light-scattering particles, showing what happens during industrially relevant reactions.

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University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have made a material that can transition from an electricity-transmitting metal to a nonconducting insulating material without changing its atomic structure.

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A new, low-cost wound dressing developed by University of Wisconsin–Madison engineers could dramatically speed up healing in a surprising way. The method leverages energy generated from a patient’s own body motions to apply gentle electrical pulses at the site of an injury.

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Bioengineers have developed a 3D bioprinting technique that works with natural materials and is easy to use, allowing researchers of varying levels of technical expertise to create lifelike tissues, such as blood vessels and a vascularized gut. The goal is to make human organ models that can be studied outside the body or used to test new drugs ex vivo.

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Researchers using magnetic signals have found unique “fingerprints” on steel, which could help to verify weapons treaties and reduce the use of counterfeit bolts in the construction industry.

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The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced plans to provide $24 million in new and renewal research awards to advance the development of sophisticated software for computer-based design of novel materials.

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Human skin contains sensitive nerve cells that detect pressure, temperature and other sensations that allow tactile interactions with the environment. To help robots and prosthetic devices attain these abilities, scientists are trying to develop electronic skins. Now researchers report a new method in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces that creates an ultrathin, stretchable electronic skin, which could be used for a variety of human-machine interactions.

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Two leaders in US manufacturing innovation, Thomas Kurfess and Scott Smith, are joining the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory to support its pioneering research in advanced manufacturing.

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Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have identified new, readily available materials that convert sunlight and carbon dioxide (CO2) into building blocks for liquid fuels that could one day heat homes and power cars.

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Flexible batteries that could fit inside a football and power sensors to confirm a first down or even power our devices so they can be fully charged in minutes. A team of researchers at UD has an invention aimed at improving battery performance.

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Seven researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have been chosen by the Innovative and Novel Computational Impact on Theory and Experiment, also known as INCITE, program to lead scientific investigations that require the nation’s most powerful computers. The ORNL-based projects span a broad range of the scientific spectrum and represent the potential of high-performance computing in ensuring America’s scientific competitiveness and energy security.