- Number 300 |
- November 23, 2009
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Single-layer superconductivity
Using a precision technique for making superconducting thin films layer-by-layer, physicists at DOE's Brookhaven Lab have identified a single layer responsible for one such material’s ability to carry current with no energy loss. The technique could be used to engineer ultrathin films with “tunable” superconductivity for higher-efficiency electronic devices. -
LHC restart produces first particles in CMS detector
Preparations for the restart of the Large Hadron Collider in Europe are in full swing. On Saturday, Nov. 7, scientists taking shifts in the LHC Remote Operations Center at DOE’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory witnessed the first beam of protons knocking on the door of the CMS particle detector. -
Where did the uranium go?
Based on experiments and modeling, scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are learning how the chemistry brought on by a river's changing levels slows uranium's movement in the surrounding soil. The research shows uranium's migration is influenced by the groundwater’s pH and carbonate levels. -
Rethinking organic electronics
A team of engineers has explained a frustrating inconsistency in the performance of electronics made with organic materials, using data taken at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, located at DOE's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. -
Jefferson Lab FEL set for UV
The Free-Electron Laser at DOE's Jefferson Lab successfully
transported an electron beam through its new ultraviolet beamline for
the first time on Wednesday, October 28. The machine is now just
months away from emitting its first powerful beams of ultraviolet
laser light. -
INL develops prototype tunnel detector
Engineers from DOE's Idaho National Laboratory have developed a portable device that can detect tunnels through 75 feet of solid earth. The Look-Ahead Sensor finds bunkers and tunnels by measuring how dirt and rocks shake in response to sound waves the machine pumps into the ground. Special software graphs the response— solid earth shows a rapidly rising line, but a void underfoot produces a humped peak or dip. -
Many hands—or many flagella—make light work
In studies of the motion of tiny swimming bacteria, scientists at DOE's Argonne National Laboratory found that the microscopic organisms can stir fluids remarkably quickly and effectively. As a result, the bacterial flagella could act like tiny motors to mix chemicals in biomedical kits, among other applications.
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Aluminum hydride work a boost for energy storage
Recent achievements at DOE's Savannah River National Laboratory with aluminum hydride, a high capacity hydrogen storage material, are not only expected to accelerate the development of a whole class of storage materials, but also have far reaching applications in areas spanning energy technology and synthetic chemistry. -
Software helps design energy-stingy buildings
A new quick, easy to use and free software tool created by DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory developers seamlessly combines the building energy simulation of EnergyPlus with the popular drawing interface of Google's SketchUp, helping architects design healthier structures with fewer carbon emissions and lower utility bills. -
Jaguar ranked world's fastest supercomputer
An upgrade to a Cray XT5 high-performance computing system has made the Jaguar supercomputer, located at DOE's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the world’s fastest, according to the latest TOP500 ranking. The upgrade, funded with $19.9 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will enable scientific simulations of dramatically increased size and complexity. -
Why bands of iron formed billions of years ago
No one knows why massive bands of iron—some hundreds of kilometers long— mysteriously began precipitating on Earth’s surface about 3.5 billion years ago. Or why, almost 2 billion years later, the precipitation stopped. -
A soundwave hyperlens boosts sonar and ultrasound eightfold
The world’s first acoustic hyperlens, created by Xiang Zhang and his colleagues at DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, provides an eightfold boost in the magnification power of sound-based imaging technologies. Conventional acoustic imaging is limited by the length of the sound wave, but the Berkeley Lab researchers overcome this diffraction limit using engineered wave dispersion surfaces. 
Carbon nanotube technology goes commercial
DOE's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has exclusively licensed to Porifera Inc. of Hayward a carbon nanotube technology that can be used to desalinate water and can be applied to other liquid-based separations.
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'Positive' contribution to JT60U
Positive ions of hydrogen isotopes are commonly used to produce the neutral beams that are injected into plasma fuel to heat it to the temperatures required for the production of fusion energy. Future fusion devices such as ITER, the large international fusion experiment under construction in France, will require higher-velocity neutral beams to penetrate the core of their larger, denser plasmas.
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Novel membrane prototype fabricated, tested
A novel hydrogen separation prototype developed at the National Energy Technology Laboratory was successfully tested at temperatures ranging from 400 to 800°C by the Reaction and Chemistry Engineering Research Group. The prototype consisted of hollow quartz glass fibers with an
outer diameter of 400 µm and a wall thickness less than 40 µm. -
Harnessing the Casimir Effect
Nanoscale machines used in medicine and other fields may someday operate more efficiently thanks to recent discoveries by researchers at DOE’s Ames Laboratory. The research uses an exotic class of materials known as chiral metamaterials that can harness the so-called Casimir effect.
