- Number 346 |
- September 19, 2011
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Water expedites the capture of climate change's chief culprit
A thin film of water more quickly solidifies gaseous carbon dioxide, according to scientists at DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory who are studying underground storage of the common pollutant. Keeping carbon dioxide from power plants deep underground and out of the atmosphere removes it as a player in climate change. But, would water be a bad influence on carbon dioxide while it was locked away?
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Neutron analysis reveals unique 'cobalt blue'
Neutron scattering studies of "cobalt blue," a compound prized by artists for its lustrous blue hue, are revealing unique magnetic characteristics that could answer questions about mysterious properties in other materials.
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Magnetic, superconducting material opens new possibilities in electronics
A group of scientists recently sandwiched two non-magnetic materials together and discovered a startling result: The layer where the two materials meet has both magnetic and superconducting regions—two properties that normally can’t co-exist. Technologists have long hoped to find a way to engineer magnetism in this class of materials, called complex oxides, as a first step in developing a potential new form of computing memory for storage and processing.
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Big machines: Radiation generators mark major milestones
Two remarkable pulsed-power machines used to test the nation’s defenses against atomic weapons have surpassed milestones at DOE’s Sandia National Laboratories: 4,000 firings, called ‘shots,’ on the Saturn accelerator and 9,000 shots on the HERMES III accelerator.