Science Snapshots From Berkeley Lab
Science Snapshots From Berkeley Lab - Water purification, infant-warming device, cuff-based heart disease monitor, ancient magnetic fields
Mapping the Electronic States in an Exotic Superconductor
Scientists mapped the electronic states in an exotic superconductor. The maps point to the composition range necessary for topological superconductivity, a state that could enable more robust quantum computing.
New computer model helps brings the sun into the laboratory
Every day, the sun ejects large amounts of a hot particle soup known as plasma toward Earth where it can disrupt telecommunications satellites and damage electrical grids. Now, scientists have made a discovery that could lead to better predictions of this space weather.
New 2D superconductor forms at higher temperatures than ever before
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have discovered a new way to generate 2D superconductivity at an interface of an insulating oxide material, at a higher transition temperature than ever seen before for these materials.
Physicists Net Neutron Star Gold from Measurement of Lead
Nuclear physicists have made a new, highly accurate measurement of the thickness of the neutron "skin" that encompasses the lead nucleus in experiments conducted at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and just published in Physical Review Letters. The result, which revealed a neutron skin thickness of .28 millionths of a nanometer, has important implications for the structure and size of neutron stars.
Unlocking the secrets of Earth's early atmosphere
Research partly conducted at the Advanced Photon Source helped scientists discover the composition of Earth's first atmosphere. What they found raises questions about the origin of life on Earth.
Fooling fusion fuel: How to discipline unruly plasma
PPPL scientists have developed a type of deception to calm unruly plasma and accelerate the harvesting on Earth of fusion energy.
Synthesis Method Expands Material Possibilities
Scientists are making inorganic and organic-inorganic materials with tunable properties for energy, microelectronics, and other applications.
Scientists uncover surprising behavior of a fatty acid enzyme with potential biofuel applications
Although many organisms capture and respond to sunlight, enzymes - proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions - are rarely driven by light. A new study captures the full cycle of complex structural changes in an light-driven enzyme called FAP as it transforms a fatty acid into alkanes or alkenes.
The Future Looks Bright for Infinitely Recyclable Plastic
Plastics are ubiquitous, but they're not practical. Less than 10% are recycled, and the other ~8 billion tons are creating a pollution crisis. A Berkeley Lab team is determined to change that. A new analysis shows producing and recycling their game-changing new plastic could be easy and cheap enough to leave old plastics in the dust.
Scientists glimpse signs of a puzzling state of matter in a superconductor
High-temperature superconductors conduct electricity with no loss, but no one knows how they do it. SLAC scientists observed the signature of an exotic state of matter called "pair density waves" in a cuprate superconductor and confirmed that it intertwines with another exotic state.
Faster Air Exchange in Buildings Not Always Beneficial for Coronavirus Levels
Vigorous and rapid air exchanges might not always be a good thing when it comes to levels of coronavirus particles in a multiroom building, according to a new modeling study. Particle levels can spike in downstream rooms shortly after rapid ventilation.
In Calculating the Social Cost of Methane, Equity Matters
A new study by a team including researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and UC Berkeley reports that the social cost of methane - a greenhouse gas that is 30 times as potent as carbon dioxide in its ability to trap heat - varies by as much as an order of magnitude between industrialized and developing regions of the world.
To Design Truly Compostable Plastic, Scientists Take Cues From Nature
Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have designed an enzyme-activated compostable plastic that could diminish microplastics pollution. Household tap water or soil composts break the hybrid plastic material down to reusable small molecules, called monomers, in just a few days or weeks.
Mapping Performance Variations to See How Lithium-Metal Batteries Fail
Scientists have identified the primary cause of failure in a state-of-the-art lithium-metal battery, of interest for long-range electric vehicles: electrolyte depletion.
Found: A fast and accurate way to optimize fusion energy devices
PPPL develops a model once thought to be impossible for delivering radio waves to heat tokamak plasmas.
To Cool Tomorrow's Buildings, Power Sector Must Grow
New study projects electricity demand tied to cooling U.S. buildings will grow as peak temperatures rise, alongside the need for an expanded power sector.
Experts' Predictions for Future Wind Energy Costs Drop Significantly
Technology and commercial advancements are expected to continue to drive down the cost of wind energy, according to a survey led by Berkeley Lab of the world's foremost wind power experts. Experts anticipate cost reductions of 17%-35% by 2035 and 37%-49% by 2050, driven by bigger and more efficient turbines, lower capital and operating costs, and other advancements.
Little swirling mysteries: New research uncovers dynamics of ultrasmall, ultrafast groups of atoms
Exploring and manipulating the behavior of polar vortices in material may lead to new technology for faster data transfer and storage. Researchers used the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne and the Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC to learn more.
From Smoky Skies to a Green Horizon: Scientists Convert Fire-Risk Wood into Biofuel
Reliance on petroleum fuels and raging wildfires: Two separate, large-scale challenges that could be addressed by one scientific breakthrough. Researchers from two national laboratories have collaborated to develop a streamlined and efficient process for converting woody plant matter like forest overgrowth and agricultural waste - material that is currently burned either intentionally or unintentionally - into liquid biofuel.
Suppression of COVID-19 Waves Reflects Time-Dependent Social Activity, Not Herd Immunity
Scientists developed a new mathematical model for predicting how COVID-19 spreads, accounting for individuals' varying biological susceptibility and levels of social activity, which naturally change over time.
Plasma device designed for consumers can quickly disinfect surfaces
The COVID-19 pandemic has cast a harsh light on the urgent need for quick and easy techniques to sanitize and disinfect everyday high-touch objects such as doorknobs, pens, pencils, and personal protective gear worn to keep infections from spreading.
Cybersecurity in the Blue Economy
More than two-thirds of the Earth's surface is covered by the oceans and seas. Over the next decade, these vast waters are expected to add $3 trillion to the global economy by generating electricity using marine renewable energy (MRE) devices. These "blue economy" technologies harness power across waves, tides, and currents that could reduce the carbon footprint from energy production and provide grid stability to remote coastal communities.
The Scoop on Hyperloop
PNNL researchers investigate innovative transportation system's impact on the electric grid
Better solutions for making hydrogen may lie just at the surface
A new study uncovers insight into a promising type of material for splitting water, perovskite oxides.