Bump in LHC Data Has Physicists Electrified
In December, the ATLAS and CMS experiments reported what could be the first hint of a new massive particle that spits out two photons as it decays. Now, physicists are presenting their latest analyses at the Moriond conference in La Thuile, Italy, including a full investigation of this mysterious bump. After carefully checking, cross-checking and rechecking the data, both experiments have come to the same conclusion--the bump is still there.
New Carbon Capture Membrane Boasts CO2 Highways
A new, highly permeable carbon capture membrane developed at Berkeley Lab could lead to more efficient ways of separating carbon dioxide from power plant exhaust, preventing the greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.
Replacement for Silicon Devices Looms Big with ORNL Discovery
Two-dimensional electronic devices could inch closer to their ultimate promise of low power, high efficiency and mechanical flexibility with a processing technique developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
'Disruptive Device' Brings Xenon-NMR to Fragile Materials
Scientists have developed a device that enables NMR spectroscopy, coupled with a powerful molecular sensor, to analyze molecular interactions in viscous solutions and fragile materials such as liquid crystals. In a first, their method allows the sensor, hyperpolarized xenon gas, to be dissolved into minute samples of substances without disrupting their molecular order.
Advanced Energy Storage Material Gets Unprecedented Nanoscale Analysis
Researchers have combined advanced in-situ microscopy and theoretical calculations to uncover important clues to the properties of a promising next-generation energy storage material for supercapacitors and batteries.
New ORNL Method Could Unleash Solar Power Potential
New ORNL measurement and data analysis techniques could provide insight into performance-robbing flaws in crystalline structures, ultimately improving the performance of solar cells.
Compressing Turbulence to Improve Inertial Confinement Fusion Experiments
Article describes possible new paradigm for inertial confinement fusion technique.
Microbes May Not Be So Adaptable to Climate Change
Microbes in soil - organisms that exert enormous influence over our planet's carbon cycle - may not be as adaptable to climate change as most scientists have presumed, according to the results of a 17-year "soil transplant" on a mountainside in eastern Washington.
X-Ray Studies at SLAC and Berkeley Lab Aid Search for Ebola Cure
In experiments carried out partly at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, scientists have determined in atomic detail how a potential drug molecule fits into and blocks a channel in cell membranes that Ebola and related "filoviruses" need to infect victims' cells.
New Fuel Cell Design Powered by Graphene-Wrapped Nanocrystals
Researchers at Berkeley Lab have developed a new materials recipe for a battery-like hydrogen fuel cell that shields the nanocrystals from oxygen, moisture and contaminants while pushing its performance forward in key areas.
5 Ways SLAC's X-ray Laser Can Change the Way We Live
Here are five ways SLAC's X-ray laser and the science it enables can impact our future.
Mix and Match MOF
Inexpensive materials called MOFs pull gases out of air or other mixed gas streams, but fail to do so with oxygen. Now, a team has overcome this limitation by creating a composite of a MOF and a helper molecule in which the two work in concert to separate oxygen from other gases simply and cheaply, they report in Advanced Materials.
UT, ORNL Scientists Gain New Insights Into Atomic Disordering of Complex Metal Oxides
A study led by the University of Tennessee and the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory could soon pay dividends in the development of materials with energy-related applications.
Plasma Processing Technique Takes SNS Accelerator to New Energy Highs
A novel technique known as in-situ plasma processing is helping scientists get more neutrons and better data for their experiments at the Spallation Neutron Source at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Multi-Scale Simulations Solve a Plasma Turbulence Mystery
Cutting-edge simulations run at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center have yielded exciting answers to long-standing questions about plasma heat loss that have previously stymied efforts to predict the performance of fusion reactors.
PPPL Engineers Design and Build State-of-the-Art Controller for AC to DC Converter That Manages Plasma in Upgraded Fusion Machine
Engineers at PPPL have developed an updated version of a key electronic component that helps regulate the current that powers the coils in PPPL's recently completed National Spherical Torus Experiment-Upgrade.
Cloudy Problems: Today's Clouds Might Not Be the Same as Pre-Industrial Ones
Clouds are notoriously hard to simulate in computer programs that model climate. A new study in the Proceedings on the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition suggests why -- either clouds are more variable than scientists give them credit for, or those bright white clouds in the sky are much dirtier than scientists thought.
(Rain)Cloud Computing: Researchers Work to Improve How We Predict Climate Change
At Argonne National Laboratory, two scientists work on simulations that project what the climate will look like 100 years from now. Last year, they completed the highest-resolution climate forecast ever done for North America, dividing the continent into squares just over seven miles on a side--far more detailed than the standard 30 to 60 miles.
Story Tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, March 2016
Simulation results could lead to lower production costs for biofuels; New app provides fuel economy information and more to buyers on the go; ORNL supercomputer, SNS offer insight into disease; Advanced heat pump provides hot savings
Argonne and Los Alamos National Laboratories Team Up to Develop More Affordable Fuel Cell Components
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne and Los Alamos national laboratories have teamed up to support a DOE initiative through the creation of the Electrocatalysis Consortium (ElectroCat), a collaboration devoted to finding an effective but cheaper alternative to platinum in hydrogen fuel cells.
ORNL Researchers Stack the Odds for Novel Optoelectronic 2D Materials
A team led by researchers from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory used the vibrations between two layers to decipher their stacking patterns.The study provides a platform for engineering optoelectronic materials.
New Form of Electron-Beam Imaging Can See Elements That Are 'Invisible' to Common Methods
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have developed a new imaging technique, tested on samples of nanoscale gold and carbon, that greatly improves images of light elements using fewer electrons. The technique can reveal structural details for materials that would be invisible to some traditional methods.
Synchronized Leaf Aging in the Amazon Responsible for Seasonal Increases in Photosynthesis
High-tech photography in the Amazon reveals that young leaves grow in at the same times as older ones perish, in strong contrast to temperate forests in North America or Europe, resulting in seasonal increases in photosynthesis that must be taken into account to build more accurate climate models.
New Way to Reduce Plant Lignin Could Lead to Cheaper Biofuels
Berkeley Lab scientists have shown for the first time that an enzyme can be tweaked to reduce lignin in plants. Their technique could help lower the cost of converting biomass into carbon-neutral fuels to power your car and other sustainably developed bio-products.
A New Recipe for Biofuel: Genetic Diversity Can Lead to More Productive Growth in Switchgrass Crops
A team of national laboratory and university researchers led by the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Argonne National Laboratory is growing large test plots of switchgrass crops with the farmer in mind. For the first time, researchers have mixed different genetic varieties of switchgrass on production-size plots, hypothesizing this could increase yield by extending the growing season, varying the size of the switchgrass plants to produce a fuller crop and potentially reducing the crop's vulnerability to weather fluctuations. A seven-year study showed the switchgrass variety mixture was, most consistently, the highest yielding crop, as measured by the harvested dry weight from each plot.