Machine Learning Takes Hold in Nuclear Physics
In the past several years, nuclear physics researchers have initiated a flurry of machine learning projects and published many papers on the subject. A new survey by 18 authors from 11 institutions summarizes this work to provide an educational resource and a roadmap for future endeavors in the field.
Experts discuss quantum science at screening of 'Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania'
Following the screening of the movie, leading experts in quantum science discussed the quantum realm in Marvel's universe and in ours. Guests were also treated to a hands-on demo of the Quantum Casino, a fun, game-based introduction to quantum physics.
Volker Rose: Then and Now / 2012 Early Career Award Winner
At Argonne's Advanced Photon Source and its Center for Nanoscale Materials, physicist Volker Rose's team built a one-of-a-kind microscope. They developed techniques to combine the chemical sensitivity of synchrotron X-rays with the high spatial resolution of scanning tunneling microscopy.
Researchers turn to quantum computing power to simulate, study atomic nuclei
Let's see, thought James Vary, how can we have a little fun with the name of our $1 million nuclear physics project?
Nanoparticles Self-Assemble to Harvest Solar Energy
In APL Photonics, researchers design a solar harvester with enhanced energy conversion capabilities. The device employs a quasiperiodic nanoscale pattern, meaning most of it is an alternating and consistent pattern, while the remaining portion contains random defects that do not affect its performance. The fabrication process makes use of self-assembling nanoparticles, which form an organized material structure based on their interactions with nearby particles without any external instructions. Thermal energy harvested by the device can be transformed to electricity using thermoelectric materials.
Enhanced Arsenic Detection in Water, Food, Soil
In Journal of Applied Physics, a team of scientists fabricate sensitive nanostructured silver surfaces to detect arsenic, even at very low concentrations. The sensors make use of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy: As a molecule containing arsenic adheres to the surface, it's hit with a laser and the arsenic compound scatters the laser light, creating an identifiable signature. The technique is a departure from existing methods, which are time-consuming, expensive, and not ideally suited to on-site field assays.
How Earth's molecules got their "handedness"
Scientists from The Ohio State University have a new theory about how the building blocks of life - the many proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids that compose every organism on Earth - may have evolved to favor a certain kind of molecular structure.
What Physicists Can Learn from Shark Intestines
ROCKVILLE, MD - In 1920, inventor Nikola Tesla patented a type of pipe that he called a "valvular conduit," which was built to draw fluid in one direction without any moving parts or added energy, and has applications ranging from soft robotics to medical implants. In 2021, scientists discovered that sharks' spiral-shaped intestines work much the same way, favoring fluid flow in one direction--from head to pelvis.
Astrophysics: Scientists observe high-speed star formation
Gas clouds in the Cygnus X Region, a region where stars form, are composed of a dense core of molecular hydrogen (H2) and an atomic shell. These ensembles of clouds interact with each other dynamically in order to quickly form new stars.
A Trial Run for Smart Streaming Readouts
Instruments that measure subatomic particles in nuclear physics experiment generate enormous amounts of data. Nuclear physicists are turning to artificial intelligence and machine learning methods to process this torrent. Recent tests of two systems that use machine learning and artificial intelligence-based streaming readout found that these systems were able to perform real-time processing of raw experimental data.
Physicists solve durability issue in next-generation solar cells
Physicists in the U.S. jumped a major hurdle standing in the way of the commercialization of solar cells created with halide perovskites as a lower-cost, higher-efficiency replacement for silicon when generating electricity from the sun.
Slow motion: Scientists investigate tectonic plate boundary earthquake behavior
Renaissance polymath Leonard da Vinci demonstrated frictional forces slow down the motion of surfaces in contact. Friction, he determined, is proportional to normal force. When two objects are pressed together twice as hard, friction doubles.
Artificial intelligence reframes nuclear material studies
Nuclear energy provides a fifth of total U.S. electrical power and half of its clean electricity. With new results from one scientist's study of computer vision at Argonne National Laboratory's IVEM facility, it may do even more.
New quantum sensing technique reveals magnetic connections
A research team supported by the Q-NEXT quantum research center demonstrates a new way to use quantum sensors to tease out relationships between microscopic magnetic fields.
SLAC theorist Lance Dixon receives Galileo Galilei Medal
Lance Dixon, professor of particle physics and astrophysics at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University, will receive the 2023 Galileo Galilei Medal for his contributions to theoretical physics. The award was announced by the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) on Feb. 15 - the 459th birthday of Galileo.
Unveiling Networks of Stellar Nurseries in Nearby Galaxies
Janice Lee, Chief Scientist at the International Gemini Observatory, leads the JWST Treasury Survey for the PHANGS (Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby Galaxies) collaboration to study how star formation affects the evolution of galaxies. These observations are providing new insights into how some of the smallest-scale processes in our Universe -- the beginnings of star formation -- impact the evolution of the largest objects in our cosmos: galaxies.
JCP-DCP Future of Chemical Physics Lectureship Awarded to Haiming Zhu
The Journal of Chemical Physics and the APS Division of Chemical Physics announce Haiming Zhu as the winner of the JCP-DCP Future of Chemical Physics Lectureship in recognition of his contributions to the understanding of the photophysical properties of emerging optoelectronic materials and processes using spatio-temporal resolved ultrafast spectroscopy.
Assessing the Benefits of Digital Microfluidics for Bacterial Protocols
The February 2023 issue of SLAS Technology contains a set of four original research articles and one review article covering digital microfluidics (DMF), cryopreservation, colorectal cancer research and other laboratory automation technology.
Proposed quantum device may succinctly realize emergent particles such as the Fibonacci anyon
Long before Dr. Jukka Vayrynen was an assistant professor at the Purdue Department of Physics and Astronomy, he was a post-doc investigating a theoretical model with emergent particles in a condensed matter setting.
1st observational evidence linking black holes to dark energy
Searching through existing data spanning 9 billion years, a team of researchers led by scientists at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has uncovered the first evidence of "cosmological coupling" -a newly predicted phenomenon in Einstein's theory of gravity, possible only when black holes are placed inside an evolving universe.
A Plutonium Needle in a Haystack
Characterizing plutonium is important to environmental studies, nuclear plant and materials safety, and studies of nucleosynthesis and neutron star mergers. Scientists therefore need ways to detect ultra-trace amounts of plutonium. Researchers have now used special lasers to study the fingerprints of plutonium's photoionization. The technique allowed researchers to identify ultra-trace amounts of plutonium atoms at record levels of efficiency.
Putting Particle Accelerator Cavities to the Test
Since it first went online more than 30 years ago, the Vertical Test Area at the U.S. Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility has gotten used to superlatives. One of the biggest testbeds of its kind. The busiest. The most versatile.Now, the Vertical Test Area that was created to help build Jefferson Lab's main particle accelerator has hit another milestone: In 2022, it conducted a mind-boggling 470 different superconducting radiofrequency accelerator cavity tests. In the rarified world of accelerators, that's an Olympic-level achievement.
Discovering the magic in superconductivity's 'magic angle'
Researchers have produced new evidence of how graphene, when twisted to a precise angle, can become a superconductor, moving electricity with no loss of energy. In a study published today (Feb. 15, 2023) in the journal Nature, the team led by physicists at The Ohio State University reported on the key role that quantum geometry plays in allowing this twisted graphene to become a superconductor.
Li-Bridge outlines steps for U.S. to double annual lithium battery revenues to $33 billion and provide 100,000 jobs by 2030
A public-private alliance, convened by the U.S. Department of Energy and managed by Argonne National Laboratory, released an action plan to accelerate the creation of a robust domestic manufacturing base and supply chain for lithium-based batteries.
NASA's Webb Uncovers New Details in Pandora's Cluster
This new image of Pandora's Cluster (Abell 2744) from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope reveals 50,000 infrared sources and extensive gravitational lensing.