Researchers release solar power data software to increase clean energy generation
The software tool sorts through messy data to reveal what's really going on with solar panels on cloudy and sunny days.
Insect populations flourish in the restored habitats of solar energy facilities
Researchers at Argonne National Laboratory studied how insect communities responded to newly established habitats on solar energy facilities built on retired agricultural land. At the end of five years, all habitat and biodiversity metrics increased.
Fungal 'bouncers' patrol plant-microbe relationship
A new computational framework created by Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers is accelerating their understanding of who's in, who's out, who's hot and who's not in the soil microbiome, where fungi often act as bodyguards for plants, keeping friends close and foes at bay.
Discovery of Low-lying Isomeric States in Cesium-136 Has Applications in Particle Astrophysics
Experiments searching for dark matter or astrophysical neutrinos require low background detectors.
Researchers Visualize Energetic Ion Flow in Fusion Devices
Burning fusion plasmas host a wide array of electromagnetic waves that can push energetic ions out of the plasma.
Catalytic Combo Converts CO2 to Solid Carbon Nanofibers
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Columbia University have developed a way to convert carbon dioxide (CO2), a potent greenhouse gas, into carbon nanofibers, materials with a wide range of unique properties and many potential long-term uses.
Measurement Technique Sheds New Light on Semiconductors for Solar Fuels
Semiconductors in photoelectrochemical cells can convert water into hydrogen for fuel. To develop this technology, researchers have developed a technique to measure these devices' photovoltage, or energy output, quantitively. The technique avoids the difficulty of attaching wires to the front of the semiconductors in contact with water.
AI helps whittle down candidates for hydrogen carriers in liquid form from billions to about 40
In an AI-based exploration of 160 billion organic molecules, Argonne National Laboratory scientists identified about 40 liquid hydrogen carriers that could one day fuel cars, trucks, buses, trains and ships and generate energy for consumers.
How black silicon, a prized material used in solar cells, gets its dark, rough edge
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have developed a new theoretical model explaining one way to make black silicon, an important material used in solar cells.
Testing the Gallium Anomaly
Scientists have confirmed possible evidence of a new elementary particle, the sterile neutrino. The results from the Baksan Experiment on Sterile Transitions (BEST) found that the germanium 71 yield was 20% to 24% lower than expected based on the intensity of the neutrino source and on scientists' knowledge of how neutrinos are absorbed. This is consistent with earlier results on the so-called gallium anomaly.
Final supernova results from Dark Energy Survey offer unique insights into the expansion of the universe
In the culmination of a decade's worth of effort, the DES collaboration of scientists analyzed an unprecedented sample of more than 1,500 supernovae classified using machine learning. They placed the strongest constraints on the expansion of the universe ever obtained with the DES supernova survey. While consistent with the current standard cosmological model, the results do not rule out a more complex theory that the density of dark energy in the universe could have varied over time.
Protein Structures Signal Fresh Targets for Anticancer Drugs
Cell replication in our bodies is triggered by a cascade of molecular signals transmitted between proteins. Compounds that block these signals show potential as cancer drugs. Recently, scientists uncovered the molecular mechanisms that underlie a step in the signal-transmission pathway that requires three proteins to link up. This points the way to new targets for drugs that fight certain types of cancer.
The Facility for Rare Isotope Beams after One Year of Operation
Since starting operation in May 2022, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB), a Department of Energy Office of Science user facility at Michigan State University, has enabled discoveries in the science of atomic nuclei, their role in the cosmos, and the fundamental symmetries of nature.
Revolutionizing resource renewal: Scaling up sustainable recycling for critical materials
Scientists at ORNL have developed a technique for recovering and recycling critical materials that has garnered special recognition from a peer-reviewed materials journal and received a new phase of funding for research and development.
Opening the Magnetic Bottle of a Tokamak Causes Particles to Rush Inward
Plasma confinement in a tokamak can potentially cause pressure gradients that lead to instabilities in the plasma, disrupting tokamak performance.
C2QA, a Year in Review
The Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage has been growing, building, and working hard every year to support their mission--building the tools necessary to create scalable, distributed, and fault-tolerant quantum computer systems. Here are some of this year's highlights.
A Dense Quark Liquid Is Distinct from a Dense Nucleon Liquid
In this study, researchers addressed the question of whether the liquids of nucleons and quarks are fundamentally different. Both liquids produce vortices when they rotate, but in quark liquids, the vortices carry a "color-magnetic field." There is no such effect in nucleon liquids, so these vortices distinguish quark liquids from nuclear liquids.
Scientists Probe the Emergent Structure of the Carbon Nucleus
The physics of carbon-12 are extremely complex. This research computed the nuclear states of carbon-12 from first principles using supercomputers and nuclear lattice simulations.
Researchers develop all-optical switches that could lead to faster computer processors
Conventional computer processors have pretty much maxed out their "clock speeds" -- a measurement of how fast they can toggle on and off -- due to limitations of electronic switching.
Tracking roadway savings from coast to coast
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have identified the most energy-efficient 2024 model year vehicles available in the United States, including electric and hybrids, in the latest edition of the Department of Energy's Fuel Economy Guide.
How Do Quark-Gluon-Plasma Fireballs Explode into Hadrons?
Colliding two heavy nuclei produces quark-gluon fireballs from which subatomic particles emerge. Fluctuations in the number of these particles from collision to collision carry important information about the QGP. Researchers used an approach called the maximum entropy principle to provide a crucial connection between experimental observations and the hydrodynamics of the QGP fireball.
An Electrifying Improvement in Copper Conductivity
A newly developed, highly conductive copper wire could find applications in the electric grid, as well as in homes and businesses.
Computational scientists generate molecular datasets at extreme scale
A team of computational scientists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has generated and released datasets of unprecedented scale that provide the ultraviolet visible spectral properties of over 10 million organic molecules.
Scientists reveal superconductor with on-off switches
As industrial computing needs grow, the size and energy consumption of the hardware needed to keep up with those needs grows as well.
3D-Printed Alloys Offer Improved Strength and Ductility
High-entropy alloys (HEAs) have potential uses in applications involving severe wear and tear, extreme temperatures, radiation, and high stress, but HEAs made using additive manufacturing often have poor ductility. Scientists have now used laser-based additive manufacturing to form stronger and more ductile HEAs.