News Feature Channel: Department of Energy

Making Difficult Quantum Many-Body Calculations Possible

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 15:05:44 EST

One of the methods scientists use to study quantum many-body systems is the ab initio approach, but some ab initio methods run into severe computational problems when using realistic interactions. This study introduces wavefunction matching and uses it to perform lattice simulations with realistic interactions. This allows scientists to make calculations that were once impossible.

A Quantum Material Could Be the Future of High-Energy X-Ray Imaging and Particle Detection

Argonne National Laboratory — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 10:05:53 EST

New research conducted at Argonne National Laboratory shows that colloidal quantum shells could revolutionize the production of X-ray imaging scintillators.

Researchers Find Clues to the Mysterious Heating of the Sun's Atmosphere

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 09:05:36 EST

PPPL researchers have made a significant advancement in understanding the underlying heating mechanism of the sun's atmosphere, finding that reflected plasma waves could drive the heating of coronal holes.

3D Printing One of the Strongest Stainless Steels

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 14:05:48 EST

Researchers have developed a way to consistently produce 17-4 PH stainless steel using additive manufacturing, or 3D printing. The rapid change in temperatures that occur in these materials after they are heated by the lasers in 3D printers make it difficult to achieve the toughness needed for 17-4 PH steel. This research used bright X-ray beams to observe those fast changes in real time, then altered the chemical composition to compensate for them.

Excitement About New QSA Studies Propel Quantum Research Into a Higher Energy Orbit

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 17:05:35 EST

QSA is breaking new ground in particle physics and promoting interdisciplinary teamwork to address critical scientific challenges.

Scientists Accelerate Uranium Beam with Record Power

Wed, 09 Oct 2024 14:05:26 EST

Researchers at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams reached a new milestone in isotope studies, accelerating a high-power beam of uranium ions to a record 10.4 kilowatts of continuous beam power to a target. The beam enabled scientists to produce and identify three new isotopes, gallium-88, arsenic-93, and selenium-96.

New Technique Could Unlock Potential of Quantum Materials

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 14:05:01 EST

A research team led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory has devised a unique method to observe changes in materials at the atomic level. The technique opens new avenues for understanding and developing advanced materials for quantum computing and electronics.

Argonne Workshop Highlights Ongoing Experimental Efforts to Unlock the Secrets of the Elusive Neutrino Particle

Argonne National Laboratory — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 12:05:30 EST

Argonne recently hosted the 25th International Workshop on Neutrinos from Accelerators (NuFact). The workshop brought together leading experts in neutrino physics to share expertise, review progress of experiments and shape future research directions.

QSA Pioneers Innovations in Quantum Devices and Algorithms for Chemical Science

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 11:30:07 EST

Amid various efforts to develop algorithms and technologies that close the gap between today's noisy quantum systems and future fault-tolerant quantum computers, QSA researchers from partner institutions have concentrated on using quantum devices and novel techniques for significant applications such as complex molecular simulations in chemistry.

New AI Models of Plasma Heating Lead to Important Corrections in Computer Code Used for Fusion Research

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 08:30:26 EST

New artificial intelligence models for plasma heating can do more than was previously thought possible, not only increasing the prediction speed 10 million times while preserving accuracy but also correctly predicting plasma heating in cases where the original numerical code failed.

Brookhaven's Computing Center Reaches 300 Petabytes of Stored Data

Brookhaven National Laboratory — Tue, 08 Oct 2024 09:05:13 EST

The Scientific Data and Computing Center (SDCC) at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory now stores more than 300 petabytes of data. That's far more data than would be needed to store everything written by humankind since the dawn of history -- or, if you prefer your media in video format, all the movies ever created.

Neutrons Help Improve 3D-Printed Superalloys for Applications in Extreme Environments

Tue, 08 Oct 2024 08:05:35 EST

Researchers studied stress effects in novel "superalloys" made from two 3D-printed high-strength, high-heat resistant metals. The study found that heat treatments reduce stress created in the materials during manufacturing. It also found that stresses are more likely to be caused by certain manufacturing parameters than they are by the metal's chemical composition.

Nanoscale Method Boosts Materials for Advanced Memory Storage

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 14:05:14 EST

Next-generation technologies, such as leading-edge memory storage solutions and brain-inspired neuromorphic computing systems, could touch nearly every aspect of our lives -- from the gadgets we use daily to the solutions for major global challenges.

Pivot, Not Panic: Chain Reaction Innovations Is Driving Startup Success

Argonne National Laboratory — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 13:30:56 EST

Chain Reaction Innovations, the entrepreneurship program at Argonne National Laboratory, supports startups that have raised more than a half-billion dollars in follow-on funding since the program's inception in 2016.

Bringing FAIR Principles to AI Models

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 12:05:48 EST

The original FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) principles defined best practices to maximize the reuse of datasets. Researchers have now adapted these principles for scientific datasets and research software.

Digging into Neutrino Research

Department of Energy, Office of Science — Mon, 07 Oct 2024 10:05:32 EST

As a kid, you may have tried to dig a hole in your backyard to reach China. Obviously, that didn't happen. But digging out a lot of ground can be quite productive. Instead of reaching another country, the scientists, engineers, and construction workers on the LBNF-DUNE project dug up rock to enable groundbreaking science.

'Neutron Nexus' Brings Universities, ORNL Together to Advance Science

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 15:05:06 EST

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has launched its Neutron Nexus pilot program with Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, or FAMU, and Florida State University, or FSU, through the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. The first program of its kind nationwide, it's aimed at broadening and diversifying the scientific user community with outreach to universities and colleges to increase collaboration and, ultimately, scientific advancement.

International Clean Energy Initiative Launches Global Biomass Resource Assessment

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Fri, 04 Oct 2024 13:05:15 EST

A multi-country, government-led initiative dedicated to advancing the global transition to a sustainable, bio-based economy, unveiled a new Global Biomass Resource Assessment, providing groundbreaking data on current and future sustainable biomass supplies around the world.

Argonne's Recell Center Hosts Industry Collaboration Meeting, Highlighting Battery Recycling Partnerships

Argonne National Laboratory — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 14:00:34 EST

Argonne's ReCell Center hosted a two-day Industry Collaboration Meeting. It was attended by major energy storage and battery recycling stakeholders in the Chicagoland community.

South Side Showcase Spotlights Summer STEM Projects

Argonne National Laboratory — Thu, 03 Oct 2024 11:00:02 EST

More than 150 students and their mentors, as well as leaders from 20 STEM development organizations, gathered at Chicago's Pullman State Historic Site on August 2 to showcase projects completed during summer STEM programs.

Harnessing Protons to Treat Cancer

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 11:05:52 EST

Radiation therapy techniques have been used for more than a century to treat cancers. Physicists in the Radiation Detector and Imaging group and associated with the Biomedical Research & Innovation Center (BRIC) at Jefferson Lab are launching a study into how best to advance safer types of radiation therapy. BRIC scientists plan to evaluate the ability of accelerator-based proton therapy to replace radioactive isotope-derived treatments.

Brookhaven Lab User Facility Summer School: Building Research Connections

Brookhaven National Laboratory — Wed, 02 Oct 2024 09:05:47 EST

The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory is home to several state-of-the-art user facilities that are key in basic research and scientific discovery.

A New Era of Research Comes Into Focus

Argonne National Laboratory — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 15:05:57 EST

As the upgrade of the Advanced Photon Source nears completion at Argonne National Laboratory, scientists anticipate the experimental possibilities.

Atmospheric Observatory Opens for Operation in Bankhead National Forest

Argonne National Laboratory — Tue, 01 Oct 2024 13:05:29 EST

DOE's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement user facility has established a cutting-edge atmospheric observatory in an Alabama forest to investigate the complex interactions among clouds, vegetation, and aerosols and advance weather and climate research.

A Modular Neutrino Detector Years in the Making

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory — Mon, 30 Sep 2024 12:05:41 EST

The prototype DUNE 2x2 detector will capture up to 10,000 neutrino interactions per day. Researchers developed the new detector and advanced machine learning techniques to probe what all those neutrinos are up to.

Could a Magnetic Sandwich Make Your Electronic Devices Work More Efficiently?

Department of Energy, Office of Science — Fri, 27 Sep 2024 13:05:00 EST

Researchers looking for materials that conduct electrons with near-zero resistance at normal operating temperature have found a promising candidate. The material, a layered "sandwich" of bismuth telluride and manganese bismuth telluride structure, exhibits the quantum anomalous Hall effect. In this effect, electrons with their spins all aligned in the same direction can travel along the edges of a material with almost no resistance.

Argonne Researchers Crack a Key Problem with Sodium-Ion Batteries for Electric Vehicles and Grid Energy Storage

Argonne National Laboratory — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 15:05:31 EST

New method for cathode preparation prevents the particle cracking that caused performance decline with cycling of sodium-ion batteries, which offer a cheaper, more abundant alternative to lithium-ion batteries.

Nuclear Physics Experiment Helps Identify Conditions for a New Astrophysical Process

Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:05:14 EST

A new stellar process, the intermediate "i" process, has been proposed to explain new astronomical observations on nucleosynthesis. Scientists recently reported on the measurement of a nuclear reaction that affects the production of lanthanum in the i process. The measurement will help to improve scientific understanding of nucleosynthesis.

Simultaneous Detection of Uranium Isotopes, Fluorine Advances Nuclear Nonproliferation Monitoring

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 13:30:02 EST

Combining two techniques, analytical chemists at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory became the first to detect fluorine and different isotopes of uranium in a single particle at the same time.

Xiaoqian Chen Earns DOE Early Career Award for Quantum Materials Research

Brookhaven National Laboratory — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 11:05:11 EST

Xiaoqian Chen, a physicist and beamline scientist at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory, has been selected as one of the 91 early career scientists from across the country to receive research funding through the DOE Office of Science's Early Career Research Program.

AI-Guided Experiments Speed Scientific Discovery

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 19:05:35 EST

Finding a needle in a haystack is the quintessentially impossible task. But what if new tools could make it straightforwardly achievable? Imagine if, instead of searching through everything by hand, you could portion out small piles of hay and use magnets.

Manganese Cathodes Could Boost Lithium-ion Batteries

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Wed, 25 Sep 2024 11:05:05 EST

Manganese is earth-abundant and cheap. A new process could help make it a contender to replace nickel and cobalt in batteries.

'Writing' with Atoms Could Transform Materials Fabrication for Quantum Devices

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 16:35:10 EST

A research team at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory created a novel advanced microscopy tool to "write" with atoms, placing those atoms exactly where they are needed to give a material new properties.

Scientific Innovation Puts the Future in Focus

Argonne National Laboratory — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 16:05:46 EST

A broad-based look at the future of Argonne research.

Simulating a Critical Point in Quark Gluon Fluid

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 15:05:19 EST

Scientists are conducting experiments in search of a critical point in the Quantum Chromodynamics phase diagram. The main signatures of this point involve changes in the number of particles produced in heavy ion collisions. Modeling these observables requires an extension of the standard fluid dynamic framework

Drilling Down to the Details in Cancer Research

Department of Energy, Office of Science — Mon, 23 Sep 2024 10:05:12 EST

When an aggressive cancer launches an invasion on the human body, anything that can be done to slow down or better understand that fast-paced assault is going to be a bonus.

Tiny Cavitation Bubbles Enhance Energy Conversion in Fuel Injectors' Jets

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 15:05:34 EST

Scientists have a limited understanding of the effects of cavitation in microscopic devices. In this research, scientists took high-speed images of microscale cavitating fuel jets to understand the motion of liquid jets from high-pressure fuel injectors like those used in vehicle engines. Analysis of the results showed that cavitation enhances the energy conversion efficiency of the fuel injection.

California Streamin': Jefferson Lab, ESnet Achieve Coast-to-Coast Feed of Real-Time Physics Data

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility — Thu, 19 Sep 2024 13:05:13 EST

The test represented the culmination of nearly three years of collaboration between Jefferson Lab and ESnet to develop a novel networking hardware prototype that can connect scientific instruments to computing clusters over a wide-area network such as ESnet's in real time.

Smoother Surfaces Make for Better Particle Accelerators

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 15:05:29 EST

A new toolkit helps researchers build optimal superconducting radiofrequency (SRF) cavities that form the backbone of advanced particle accelerators. The cavities' cleanliness, shape, and roughness of their inner surfaces contribute to their efficiency. In tests of the toolkit, scientists found that smoother cavities function more efficiently.

Flexible Circuits Made with Silk and Graphene on the Horizon

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 14:00:00 EST

Ultra-thin layers of silk deposited on graphene in perfect alignment represent a key advance for the control needed in microelectronics and advanced neural network development.

Magnifying Deep Space Through the "Carousel Lens"

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 09:05:57 EST

A newly discovered cluster-scale strong gravitational lens, with a rare alignment of seven background lensed galaxies, provides a unique opportunity to study cosmology.

Constriction Junction, Do You Function?

Brookhaven National Laboratory — Wed, 18 Sep 2024 05:00:16 EST

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have shown that a type of qubit whose architecture is more amenable to mass production can perform comparably to qubits currently dominating the field.

Materials Scientist Egami Describes New World Order for Glasses, Liquids

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 16:20:04 EST

Distinguished materials scientist Takeshi Egami has spent his career revealing the complex atomic structure of metallic glass and other liquids. He studies these materials at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Mapping Out Matter's Building Blocks in 3D

Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 15:30:00 EST

Deep inside what we perceive as solid matter, the landscape is anything but stationary. The interior of the building blocks of the atom's nucleus -- particles called hadrons that most of us would recognize as protons and neutrons -- are made up of a seething mixture of interacting quarks and gluons, known collectively as partons. The HadStruc collaboration has now come together to map out these partons and disentangle how they interact to form hadrons. Their latest findings were recently published in the Journal of High Energy Physics.

AI Enhances Plasma Plume Analysis

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Tue, 17 Sep 2024 09:05:52 EST

In a game-changing study, Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists developed a deep learning model -- a type of artificial intelligence that mimics human brain function -- to analyze high-speed videos of plasma plumes during a process called pulsed laser deposition, or PLD.

New Mechanism Explains Rapid Energy Sharing Across Atomic Semiconductor Junctions

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 15:05:00 EST

Understanding and controlling heat flow is critical for many applications, especially for electronics. As these devices become smaller, the interfaces between materials often become the bottleneck to removing heat.

Planning the Future of America's Vast Electric Grid

Argonne National Laboratory — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 13:05:57 EST

The electric grid is becoming more dynamic, including two-way connections with electric vehicles and grid storage.

Computer Engineers at ORNL Pioneer Approaches to Energy Efficient Supercomputing

Oak Ridge National Laboratory — Mon, 16 Sep 2024 11:05:33 EST

As high-tech companies ramp up construction of massive data centers to meet the business boom in artificial intelligence, one component is becoming an increasingly rare commodity: electricity. With decades of experience in making HPC more energy efficient, the OLCF may serve as a resource for best "bang for the buck" practices in a suddenly burgeoning industry.

Lying in Wait: MOF Are Traps for Toxic Gases

Fri, 13 Sep 2024 14:05:28 EST

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs) show promise as a way to trap toxic molecules and mitigate their harmful effects. In this research, scientists studied how the structure of MOFs can be tuned to enhance and optimize trapping of nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.

Giving Batteries a Longer Life with the Advanced Photon Source

Argonne National Laboratory — Fri, 13 Sep 2024 12:05:02 EST

Argonne contributes to landmark research that could lead to better cathodes for longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries.