The Roly-Poly Gold Rush
In Applied Physics Letters, researchers in the U.K. introduce a novel imaging method to detect gold nanoparticles in woodlice. Their method, known as four-wave mixing microscopy, flashes light that the gold nanoparticles absorb. The light flashes again and the subsequent scattering reveals the nanoparticles' locations. With information about the quantity, location, and impact of gold nanoparticles within the organism, scientists can better understand the potential harm other metals may have on nature.
Two Early-Career Researchers Capture 2022 JCP Emerging Investigator Awards
The Journal of Chemical Physics is pleased to announce Bingqing Cheng and Katrin Erath-Dulitz as the 2022 winners of the JCP Best Paper by an Emerging Investigator Awards. Cheng was selected for research that exploits machine learning to understand and predict material properties and Erath-Dulitz was recognized for developing a method that controllably prepares chemical reactions to explore their quantum nature. Each winner will receive a $2,000 honorarium and is invited to write a perspective article for JCP.
Mapping Dark Matter Like Never Before
A new groundbreaking image from one of the world's most powerful telescopes that reveals the most detailed map of dark matter distributed across one quarter of the sky, and deep into the cosmos, offers scientists a perspective that may lead to new methods to demystify dark matter. The research that led to the image, completed by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) collaboration, also provides further support to Einstein's theory of general relativity, which has been the foundation of the standard model of cosmology for more than a century.
How Argonne is pushing the boundaries of quantum technology research
With its Department of Energy National Quantum Information Science Research Center (Q-NEXT) and its quantum research team, Argonne is a hub for research that could change the way we process and transmit information.
JoAnne Hewett Named Director of Brookhaven National Laboratory
The Board of Directors of Brookhaven Science Associates (BSA) has named theoretical physicist JoAnne Hewett as the next director of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and BSA president. BSA, a partnership between Stony Brook University (SBU) and Battelle, manages and operates Brookhaven Lab for DOE's Office of Science.
Scientists map gusty winds in a far-off neutron star system
An accretion disk is a colossal whirlpool of gas and dust that gathers around a black hole or a neutron star like cotton candy as it pulls in material from a nearby star. As the disk spins, it whips up powerful winds that push and pull on the sprawling, rotating plasma. An accretion disk is a colossal whirlpool of gas and dust that gathers around a black hole or a neutron star like cotton candy as it pulls in material from a nearby star. As the disk spins, it whips up powerful winds that push and pull on the sprawling, rotating plasma.
Brookhaven National Laboratory's New Director JoAnne Hewett To Join Stony Brook Faculty
The United States Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory's (BNL) newly appointed director, theoretical physicist JoAnne Hewett, will be joining Stony Brook University as a tenured faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and the C.N. Yang Institute for Theoretical Physics. Hewett is the first female director to lead BNL.
UAH researchers win awards totaling $750K to advance steps toward "holy grail" fusion clean energy project
Mechanical and aerospace engineering faculty at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) have won a pair of research awards totaling $750,000 to collaborate with the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) on research to advance knowledge toward one of the most sought-after goals of plasma physics, plasma fusion energy. This project marks the first experimental collaboration between the university and the LANL, helping to bring fusion and high energy density (HED) plasma research to UAH, a part of The University of Alabama System.
Five Ways QSA is Advancing Quantum Computing
The Quantum Systems Accelerator has issued an impact report that details progress made since the center launched in 2020. Highlights include a record-setting quantum sensor that could be used to hunt dark matter, a machine learning algorithm to correct qubit errors in real time, and the first observation of several exotic states of matter using a 256-atom quantum device.
Andrea Delgado unites fundamental, high energy physics with quantum computing
Andrea Delgado, a Eugene P. Wigner Fellow at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is using quantum computing to help investigate the fundamental building blocks of the universe and to see whether there are particles yet to be found.
How to see the invisible: Using the dark matter distribution to test our cosmological model
It feels like a classical paradox: How do you see the invisible? But for modern astronomers, it is a very real challenge: How do you measure dark matter, which by definition emits no light?
How to make electronic noses smell better
Imagine if you could ask a machine to "smell" something for you with just a click of a button. That's what electronic noses, or e-noses, are for. They are systems that combine chemical gas sensors, signal processing and machine learning algorithms to mimic the sense of smell.
New Findings on the Flow of Particles in Heavy Ion Collisions
Scientists analyzed data from collisions of heavy ions to determine the factors that most influence fluctuations in the flow of particles. The researchers found that conditions established just as the ions collide have the greatest impact on particle flow fluctuations. This will help physicists make more precise calculations of the properties of the quark-gluon plasma formed in these collisions and understand how the collision transforms nuclei from protons and neutrons into quark-gluon plasma.
Webb Reveals Never-Before-Seen Details in Cassiopeia A
The explosion of a star is a dramatic event, but the remains that the star leaves behind can be even more dramatic. A new mid-infrared image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope provides one stunning example. It shows the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A (Cas A), created by a stellar explosion 340 years ago from Earth's perspective. The image displays vivid colors and intricate structures begging to be examined more closely. Cas A is the youngest known remnant from an exploding, massive star in our galaxy, offering astronomers an opportunity to perform stellar forensics to understand the star's death.
Scientists Use Peroxide to Peer into Metal Oxide Reactions
Researchers at Binghamton University led research partnering with the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)--a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory--to get a better look at how peroxides on the surface of copper oxide promote the oxidation of hydrogen but inhibit the oxidation of carbon monoxide, allowing them to steer oxidation reactions.
Two-dimensional nanoparticles with great potential
Hydrogen is considered an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional fossil fuels.
NASA's Webb Scores Another Ringed World with New Image of Uranus
NASA's James Webb Space Telescope recently observed Uranus, and the resulting image highlights a complex system of rings as well as a bright polar cap and likely storm clouds.
50 years after NASA's Apollo mission, moon rocks still have secrets to reveal
NASA scientists are using neutrons at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to study moon rocks collected from the Apollo space missions. The samples are made of dust and rock fragments that combined and struck the moon's surface possibly billions of years ago. As plans to travel to Mars progress, insights into the rocks could reveal more about the formation of the solar system and where water might be found on the moon.
A Novel Way to Get to the Excited States of Exotic Nuclei
Researchers developed a novel approach that observes dissipative scattering reactions to investigate discrete energy levels in an excited exotic nucleus. These energy levels are the nucleus' unique fingerprint. The researchers observed unusual excited levels in calcium-38. These levels appear to be due to the simultaneous excitation of several protons and neutrons.
Department of Energy Announces 2024 Enrico Fermi Presidential Award Call for Nominations
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a call for nominations for the 2024 Enrico Fermi Presidential Award. One of the most prestigious science and technology awards bestowed by the U.S. government, the Fermi Award recognizes individual(s) of international stature for exceptional scientific, technical, policy, and/or management achievements related to the broad missions of the DOE and its programs to address energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.
Looking Beyond the Horizon
A Texas Tech professor receives a grant to help address a challenge for the U.S. Air Force.
Underground Water Could be the Solution to Green Heating and Cooling
About 12% of the total global energy demand comes from heating and cooling homes and businesses. A new study suggests that using underground water to maintain comfortable temperatures could reduce consumption of natural gas and electricity in this sector by 40% in the U.S. The approach, called aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES), could also help prevent blackouts caused by high power demand during extreme weather events.
Hubble Unexpectedly Finds Double Quasar in Distant Universe
Hubble has found a rare pair of quasars inside two merging galaxies. These brilliant beacons are powered by supermassive black holes. The galaxies will eventually merge--and so will the quasars. This will result in an even more powerful black hole.
Was plate tectonics occurring when life first formed on Earth?
Earth is a dynamic and constantly changing planet. From the formation of mountains and oceans to the eruption of volcanoes, the surface of our planet is in a constant state of flux. At the heart of these changes lies the powerful force of plate tectonics--the movements of Earth's crustal plates.
Detecting, Predicting, and Preventing Aortic Ruptures with Computational Modeling
According to some estimates, up to 80% of patients who experience a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm will die before they reach the hospital or during surgery. But early intervention can prevent rupture and improve outcomes. In Physics of Fluids, researchers make a computational model of the cardiovascular system in order to predict early AAA rupture and monitor patients' blood vessel conditions. They mimicked specific health conditions and investigated various hemodynamic parameters using image-based computational blood dynamics.