ESnet and NERSC Blaze 400G Production Network Path
The Department of Energy's Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) and the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC) have built a 400 gigabit-per-second (Gbps) super-channel, the first-ever 400G production link to be deployed by a national research and education network.
New Electron Microscopy Method Sculpts 3-D Structures at Atomic Level
Electron microscopy researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a unique way to build 3-D structures with finely controlled shapes as small as one to two billionths of a meter.
PPPL Physicists Find Clue to Formation of Magnetic Fields Around Stars and Galaxies
An enduring astronomical mystery is how stars and galaxies acquire their magnetic fields. Physicists Jonathan Squire and Amitava Bhattacharjee at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have found a clue to the answer in the collective behavior of small magnetic disturbances.
New Clues to How Gatekeeper for the Cell Nucleus Works
Berkeley Lab scientists have uncovered new clues to how a molecular machine inside the cell acts as a gatekeeper, allowing some molecules to enter and exit the nucleus while keeping other molecules out.
Researchers Discover a New Dimension to High-Temperature Superconductivity
A team led by scientists at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory combined powerful magnetic pulses with some of the brightest X-rays on the planet to discover a surprising 3-D arrangement of a material's electrons that appears closely linked to a mysterious phenomenon known as high-temperature superconductivity.
Physicists Measure Force That Makes Antimatter Stick Together
Peering at the debris from particle collisions that recreate the conditions of the very early universe, scientists have for the first time measured the force of interaction between pairs of antiprotons. Like the force that holds ordinary protons together within the nuclei of atoms, the force between antiprotons is attractive and strong. The experiments were conducted at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory and will publish in Nature.
A Record-Setting Way to Make Transparent Conductors: Spread Them Like Butter on Toast
Scientists from Stanford University and the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have shown they can make flexible, transparent electrical conductors with record-high performance for use in solar cells, displays and other devices by spreading polymers on a clear surface with a tiny blade, like a knife spreading butter on toast.
Story Tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, November 2015
New tool developed for inspecting concrete at nuclear power plants; ORNL motor features 3-D printed metallic parts; ORNL technique combines intuition, computational strengths; Trane, ORNL combine to boost rooftop A/C efficiency 20 percent; Titan delivering unprecedented climate modeling; ORNL announces JUMP program to stimulate innovation; Bioenergy researchers closer to defeating lignin.
Study Reveals Structure of Tuberculosis Enzyme, Could Offer Drug Target
A team of scientists, including several from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, have determined the structures of several important tuberculosis enzymes, which could lead to new drugs for the disease.
Calcium-48's 'Neutron Skin' Thinner Than Previously Thought
A team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory computed distributions in calcium-48, and revealed that the difference between the radii of neutron and proton distributions (called the "neutron skin") is considerably smaller than previously thought.
First Neutrino Sightings by MicroBooNE
The recently commissioned MicroBooNE experiment at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory has reached a major milestone: It detected its first neutrinos on Oct. 15, marking the beginning of detailed studies of these fundamental particles whose properties could be linked to dark matter, matter's dominance over antimatter in the universe and the evolution of the entire cosmos since the Big Bang.
First Complete Pictures of Cells' DNA-Copying Machinery
The first-ever images of the protein complex that unwinds, splits, and copies double-stranded DNA reveal something rather different from the standard textbook view. The electron microscope images, created by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory with partners from Stony Brook University and Rockefeller University, offer new insight into how this molecular machinery functions.
Chemical Complexity Promises Improved Structural Alloys for Next-Gen Nuclear Energy
Researchers in an Energy Frontier Research Center led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory are investigating ways to design structural materials that develop fewer, smaller flaws under irradiation.
Scientists Get First Glimpse of Conductivity That Could Break Size Barriers for Memory
Scientists from Stanford University and the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have made the first direct images showing that electrical currents can flow along the boundaries between tiny magnetic regions of a material that normally doesn't conduct electricity. The results could have major implications for magnetic memory storage.
Researchers Model Birth of Universe in One of Largest Cosmological Simulations Ever Run
Researchers are sifting through an avalanche of data produced by one of the largest cosmological simulations ever performed, led by scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. The simulation, run on the Titan supercomputer at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, modeled the evolution of the universe from just 50 million years after the Big Bang to the present day--from its earliest infancy to its current adulthood. Over the course of 13.8 billion years, the matter in the universe clumped together to form galaxies, stars and planets; but we're not sure precisely how.
New ORNL Catalyst Features Unsurpassed Selectivity
Catalysts that power chemical reactions to produce the nylon used in clothing, cookware, machinery and electronics could get a lift with a new formulation that saves time, energy and natural resources.
Battery Mystery Solved: Atomic-Resolution Microscopy Answers Longstanding Questions About Lithium-Rich Cathode Material
Using complementary microscopy and spectroscopy techniques, researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) say they have solved the structure of lithium- and manganese-rich transition metal oxides, a potentially game-changing battery material and the subject of intense debate in the decade since it was discovered.
On the Road to ANG Vehicles
Berkeley Lab researchers have developed metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) that feature flexible gas-adsorbing pores, giving them a high capacity for storing methane. This capability has the potential to help make the driving range of adsorbed-natural-gas (ANG) cars comparable to that of a typical gasoline-powered car.
Promising Technique Improves Hydrogen Production of Affordable Alternative to Platinum
Scientists have demonstrated that microwaves can help create nanostructured molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) catalysts with an improved ability to produce hydrogen. The microwave-assisted strategy accomplishes this by increasing the space, and therefore decreasing the interaction, between individual layers of MoS<sub>2</sub> nanosheets.
Unraveling the Complex, Intertwined Electron Phases in a Superconductor
A team led by researchers from Brookhaven Lab and Cornell has characterized a key arrangement of electrons that may impede superconductivity in cuprates. Understanding this "electron density wave" may lead to ways to suppress or remove it to induce superconductivity, possibly even at room temperature.
California 2100: More Frequent and More Severe Droughts and Floods Likely
A study published in Nature Communications suggests that the weather patterns known as El Nino and La Nina could lead to at least a doubling of extreme droughts and floods in California later this century.
Scientists Gain Insight Into Origin of Tungsten-Ditelluride's Magnetoresistance
Two new significant findings may move scientists closer to understanding the origins of tungsten-ditelluride's (WTe<sub>2</sub>) extremely large magnetoresistance, a key characteristic in modern electronic devices like magnetic hard drives and sensors. Scientists in Illinois recently discovered that tungsten-ditelluride (WTe<sub>2</sub>) is electronically three-dimensional with a low anisotropy.
Solvents Save Steps in Solar Cell Manufacturing
Advances in ultrathin films have made solar panels and semiconductor devices more efficient and less costly, and researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory say they've found a way to manufacture the films more easily, too.
'Molecular Accordion' Drives Thermoelectric Behavior in Promising Material
Engines, laptops and power plants generate waste heat. Thermoelectric materials can recover heat and improve energy efficiency. Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory explored the fundamental physics of the world's best thermoelectric material.
Analysis Shows Greenhouse Gas Emissions Similar for Shale, Crude Oil
The U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory this week released a pair of studies on the efficiency of shale oil production excavation. The reports show that shale oil production generates greenhouse gas emissions at levels similar to traditional crude oil production.