JCESR lays foundation for safer, longer-lasting batteries
Researchers sped-up the motion of lithium ions in solid-state batteries using the paddlewheel effect.
Science Snapshots May 2020
World's forests are growing younger, U.S. wind plant performance changes with age, and fungi food choices opens the door to better methods for producing bio-based products
New research deepens understanding of Earth's interaction with the solar wind
A team of scientists at PPPL and Princeton University has reproduced a process that occurs in space to deepen understanding of what happens when the Earth encounters the solar wind.
Story Tips: Shuffling atoms, thinning forests, fusion assembly and nuclear medicine
ORNL Story Tips: Shuffling atoms, thinning forests, fusion assembly and nuclear medicine
Argonne's new menu of data storage software helps scientists realize findings earlier
A research team, led by Argonne, is developing a new data navigation system called Mochi that will provide scientists with a menu of data services they can rapidly combine and customize to suit the particular needs of a specific science domain.
Theoretical breakthrough shows quantum fluids rotate by corkscrew mechanism
Scientists performed simulations of merging rotating superfluids, revealing a peculiar corkscrew-shaped mechanism that drives the fluids into rotation without the need for viscosity.
Argonne researchers create active material out of microscopic spinning particles
Argonne researchers have created a new kind of self-healing active material out of "microspinners," which self-assemble under a magnetic field to form a lattice.
Global Environmental Changes Leading to Shorter, Younger Trees
Ongoing environmental changes are transforming forests worldwide, resulting in shorter and younger trees. Researchers found that a range of factors, including rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels, have caused a dramatic decrease in the age and stature of forests.
Researchers use ALCF resources to model the spread of COVID-19
Argonne researchers lead highly detailed COVID-19 modeling efforts to understand how the virus spreads through populations.
Return of the Blob: Scientists find surprising link to troublesome turbulence at the edge of fusion plasmas
Correlation discovered between magnetic turbulence in fusion plasmas and troublesome blobs at the plasma edge.
Novel insight reveals topological tangle in unexpected corner of the universe
In a recent theoretical study, scientists discovered the presence of the Hopfion topological structure in nano-sized particles of ferroelectrics -- materials with promising applications in microelectronics and information technology.
New insights into the dynamic edge of fusion plasmas could help capture the power that drives the sun and stars
Unique PPPL simulations reveal new understanding of the highly complex edge of fusion plasmas.
Researchers capture the coordinated dance between electrons and nuclei in a light-excited molecule
Using SLAC's high-speed "electron camera," scientists simultaneously captured the movements of electrons and nuclei in a light-excited molecule. This marks the first time this has been done with ultrafast electron diffraction, which scatters a powerful beam of electrons off materials to pick up tiny molecular motions.
Untangling a key step in photosynthetic oxygen production
Researchers zeroed in on a key step in photosynthesis in which a water molecule moves in to bridge manganese and calcium atoms in the catalytic complex that splits water to produce breathable oxygen. What they learned brings them one step closer to obtaining a complete picture of this natural process, which could inform the next generation of artificial photosynthetic systems that produce clean and renewable energy from sunlight and water. Their results were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today.
Platinum-free catalysts could make cheaper hydrogen fuel cells
Argonne scientists studied platinum-free catalysts for important fuel cell reactions. The research provides understanding of the mechanisms that make the catalysts effective, and it could inform production of more efficient and cost-effective catalysts.
Electrons Break Rotational Symmetry in Exotic Low-Temp Superconductor
This odd behavior may promote the material's ability upon cooling to perfectly conduct electricity in a way unexplained by standard theories.
New Study Confirms Important Clues to Fight Ovarian Cancer
A new study comparing cancerous tissue with normal fallopian tube samples advances important insights about the rogue cellular machinery that drives a majority of ovarian cancers.
X-ray Experiments Zero in on COVID-19 Antibodies
An antibody derived from a SARS survivor in 2003 appears to effectively neutralize the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, opening the door for speedy development of a targeted treatment.
Scientists use pressure to make liquid magnetism breakthrough
Scientists have forced a magnetic crystal into a spin liquid state, which may lead to insights into superconductivity and quantum computing.
To decipher Earth's evolutionary tale, researchers probe materials at deep-Earth conditions
Scientists have developed a way to study liquid silicates at the extreme conditions found in the core-mantle boundary. This could lead to a better understanding of the Earth's early molten days, which could even extend to other rocky planets.
Story Tips: Mining for COVID, rules to grow by and the 3D connection
ORNL story Tips: Mining for COVID, rules to grow by and the 3D connection
True colors: Using X-rays to trace the evolution of insects' structural colors
A team of researchers has used ultra-bright X-rays to analyze 13,000-year-old fossilized beetle wings to learn more about the evolution of structural colors.
In a step forward for orbitronics, scientists break the link between a quantum material's spin and orbital states
Until now, electron spins and orbitals were thought to go hand in hand in a class of materials that's the cornerstone of modern information technology; you couldn't quickly change one without changing the other. This study raises the possibility of controlling them separately.
Making Quantum 'Waves' in Ultrathin Materials
A team of researchers co-led by Berkeley Lab has observed unusually long-lived wavelike electrons called "plasmons" in a new class of electronically conducting material. Plasmons are very important for determining the optical and electronic properties of metals.