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Spiraling laser pulses could change the nature of graphene

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

A new study predicts that researchers could use spiraling pulses of laser light to change the nature of graphene, turning it from a metal into an insulator and giving it other peculiar properties that might be used to encode information.

Berkeley Lab scientist invents new technique to understand cloud behavior

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

With two off-the-shelf digital cameras situated about 1 kilometer apart facing Miami's Biscayne Bay, Berkeley Lab scientists David Romps and Rusen Oktem are collecting three-dimensional data on cloud behavior that have never been possible to collect before.

Lawrence Livermore scientists 1 step closer to mimicking gamma-ray bursts

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Using ever more energetic lasers, Lawrence Livermore researchers have produced a record high number of electron-positron pairs, opening exciting opportunities to study extreme astrophysical processes, such as black holes and gamma-ray bursts.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

On-demand X-rays at synchrotron light sources

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at Berkeley Lab's Advanced Light Source have developed an 'X-rays on demand' technique in which ALS users can have access to the X-ray beams they want without affecting beams for other users.

Journal: Journal of Synchrotron Radiation
Funder: US Department of Energy's Office of Science

Researchers watch protein 'quake' after chemical bond break

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Scientists for the first time have precisely measured a protein's natural 'knee-jerk' reaction to the breaking of a chemical bond -- a quaking motion that propagated through the protein at the speed of sound.

Lawrence Livermore researchers use seismic signals to track above-ground explosions

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Lawrence Livermore researchers have determined that a tunnel bomb explosion by Syrian rebels was less than 60 tons as claimed by sources.

Journal: Geophysical Research Letters

SLAC gears up for dark matter hunt with LUX-ZEPLIN

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently signed off on the conceptual design of the proposed LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment and gave the green light for the procurement of some of its components. DOE's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, a key member of the LZ collaboration, is setting up a test stand for the detector prototype and a facility to purify liquid xenon, which will be the detector's 'eye' for dark matter.

Supernova hunting with supercomputers

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Type Ia supernovae are famous for their consistency. Ironically, new observations suggest that their origins may not be uniform. Using a 'roadmap' of theoretical calculations and supercomputer simulations performed by Berkeley Lab's Daniel Kasen, astronomers observed a flash of light caused by a supernova slamming into a nearby star, allowing them to determine the stellar system from which the supernova was born. This finding confirms one of two competing theories about Type Ia supernovae birth.

Journal: Nature

Defects can 'Hulk-up' materials

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A Berkeley Lab study has shown that just as exposure to gamma radiation transforms Bruce Banner into fictional superhero the Hulk, exposure to alpha-particle radiation can transform thermoelectric materials into far more powerful versions of themselves.

Journal: Advanced Materials
Funder: US Department of Energy's Office of Science

American energy use up slightly, carbon emissions almost unchanged

DOE/Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Americans' energy use continued to grow slowly in 2014, fueled by increases in the use of natural gas, wind and solar, according to the most recent energy flow charts released by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.