Supercooled Water Is a Stable Liquid, Scientists Show for the First Time
First-ever measurements provide evidence that supercooled liquid water exists in two distinct structures that co-exist and vary in proportion dependent on temperature
New Calculation Refines Comparison of Matter with Antimatter
An international collaboration of theoretical physicists has published a new calculation relevant to the search for an explanation of the predominance of matter over antimatter in our universe. The new calculation gives a more accurate prediction for the likelihood with which kaons decay into a pair of electrically charged pions vs. a pair of neutral pions.
Digging into soil organic matter
A new study found patterns in how soil organic matter forms across a wide range of climate types. Understanding how soils break down or preserve organic matter is important because organic matter plays a central role in the kind of services soils can provide, such as whether they make good agricultural soils or if they can sequester carbon to slow climate change.
Quirky Response to Magnetism Presents Quantum Physics Mystery
The search is on to discover new states of matter, and possibly new ways of encoding, manipulating, and transporting information. One goal is to harness materials' quantum properties for communications that go beyond what's possible with conventional electronics. Topological insulators--materials that act mostly as insulators but carry electric current across their surface--provide some tantalizing possibilities. Scientists at Brookhaven Lab describe one such material that should be right just right for making qubits. But this material doesn't obey the rules.
High-precision electrochemistry: The new gold standard in fuel cell catalyst development
As part of an international collaboration, scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have made a pivotal discovery that could extend the lifetime of fuel cells that power electric vehicles by eliminating the dissolution of platinum catalysts.
Scientists probe the chemistry of a single battery electrode particle both inside and out
Cracks and chemical reactions on a battery particle's surface can sap its ability to store and release energy. Scientists probed a single charged particle the size of a red blood cell to see how interior and surface damage influence each other.
Quantum light squeezes the noise out of microscopy signals
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory used quantum optics to advance state-of-the-art microscopy and illuminate a path to detecting material properties with greater sensitivity than is possible with traditional tools.
Exploring Oxidative Pathways in Nuclear Fuel
An international team used PNNL microscopy to answer questions about how uranium dioxide--used in nuclear power plants--might behave in long-term storage.
Researchers find unexpected electrical current that could stabilize fusion reactions
PPPL scientists have found that electrical currents can form in ways not known before. The novel findings could give researchers greater ability to bring the fusion energy that drives the sun and stars to Earth.
Scientists find new way to measure important beam property
In a new study from Argonne, researchers have measured important beam properties that will help scientists develop more focused beams for high-impact science.
Story Tips: Cool smart walls, magnetism twist, fuel cost savings and polymers' impact
ORNL Story Tips: Cool smart walls, magnetism twist, fuel cost savings and polymers' impact
SLAC researchers find evidence for quantum fluctuations near a quantum critical point in a superconductor
Theory suggests that quantum critical points may be analogous to black holes as places where all sorts of strange phenomena can exist in a quantum material. Now scientists say that they have found strong evidence that QCPs and their associated fluctuations exist in a cuprate superconductor.
Tungsten isotope helps study how to armor future fusion reactors
A team of ORNL researchers working with tungsten to armor the inside of future fusion reactors had some surprising results when looking at the probability of contamination.
Sulfur-scavenging bacteria could be key to making common component in plastic
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Ohio State University discovered a new microbial pathway that produces ethylene, providing a potential avenue for biomanufacturing a common component of plastics, adhesives, coolants and other everyday products.
Machine Learning Helps Plasma Physics Researchers Understand Turbulence Transport
UC San Diego researchers published a study that used the 'Comet' supercomputer at the San Diego Supercomputer Center on campus showing how machine learning produced a model for plasma turbulence.
New Nitrogen Assembly Carbon catalyst has potential to transform chemical manufacturing
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory have discovered a metal-free carbon-based catalyst that has the potential to be much less expensive and more efficient for many industrial concerns, including manufacturing of bio- and fossil fuels, electrocatalysis, and fuel cells.
Natural Radiation Can Interfere with Quantum Computers
Radiation from natural sources in the environment can limit the performance of superconducting quantum bits, known as qubits. The discovery, reported in the journal Nature, has implications for the construction and operation of quantum computers.
Revised code could help improve efficiency of fusion experiments
Researchers led by PPPL have upgraded a key computer code for calculating forces acting on magnetically confined plasma in fusion energy experiments. The upgrade will help scientists further improve the design of breakfast-cruller-shaped facilities known as stellarators.
Scientists create protein models to explore toxic methylmercury formation
A team led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory created a computational model of the proteins responsible for the transformation of mercury to toxic methylmercury, marking a step forward in understanding how the reaction occurs and how mercury cycles through the environment.
Faster, more efficient energy storage could stem from holistic study of layered materials
A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a novel, integrated approach to track energy-transporting ions within an ultra-thin material, which could unlock its energy storage potential leading toward faster charging, longer-lasting devices.
Some of America's Favorite Produce Crops May Need to Get a Move On by 2045
New research from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) shows that by the years 2045-2049 future temperatures will have more of an effect on when cool-season crops, such as broccoli and lettuce, can be grown than on where, while for warm-season crops (cantaloupe, tomatoes, carrots) the impact will be greater for where they can be grown versus when.
Filling in the blanks: How supercomputing can aid high-resolution X-ray imaging
Scientists are preparing for the increased brightness and resolution of next-generation light sources with a computing technique that reduces the need for human calculations to reconstruct images.
Argonne scientists use artificial intelligence in new way to strengthen power grid resiliency
A new artificial neural network model, created by Argonne scientists, handles both static and dynamic features of a power system with a relatively high degree of accuracy.
2D Electronics Get an Atomic Tuneup
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have demonstrated a new technique that could improve the performance of atomically thin semiconductors for next-generation electronics such as optoelectronics, thermoelectrics, and sensors.
Argonne scientists create water filtration membranes that can clean themselves
Scientists at the Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have designed a new, low-cost means to address membrane fouling through the application of a light-activated coating that can make the membrane self-cleaning.