Feature Articles

As population growth and extreme temperatures strain the United States power grid, utilities and equipment manufacturers are looking for ways to increase the amount of electricity the grid can carry. The Powerline Conductor Accelerated Testing Facility, or PCAT, located at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, is one of the only facilities in the country where companies can try out new transmission line technologies for long time periods in extremes of wind, weather, temperature and electrical load conditions.

A new digital twin platform can help hydropower dam operators by providing accurate and predictive models of physical turbines that improve facilities and enhance reliability.

New 2024 American Physical Society Fellow Jozef Dudek is pursuing theoretical descriptions of exotic hadrons, a yet-untallied group of short-lived subatomic cousins of the proton and neutron, those more familiar atomic building blocks.

In preparation for the Legacy Survey of Space and Time, Argonne scientists are performing advanced cosmological simulations and working with the Rubin Observatory to shape and process its data to maximize the potential for discovery.

Science isn’t scary, but it can be spooky! For Halloween, we’re highlighting some “spooky” research that the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science supports. In fact, the physics community celebrates Dark Matter Day on Halloween! We hope that this roundup puts you in the mood to dig a little deeper into the wonders that surround you.

The search for dark matter includes expertise in radio frequency signal detection, quantum sensing, and high-energy physics at PNNL.

Argonne develops a breakthrough material for the cathode in lithium-ion batteries. It enables an across-the-board improvement in battery performance, supporting widespread adoption of electric vehicles and grid batteries.

Calculating quantum chemistry quickly allows scientists to refine their understanding of complex chemical systems.

Large language models are changing the way that people create and communicate, but they can also change the way we do science. Researchers from Argonne National Laboratory hope to demystify these tools and share how they’re shaping future research.