News By Location
News from DC
Select a state to view local articles and features
14-Jul-2020
Freezing out chemical reactions to have a closer look in the quantum realm
DOE/US Department of Energy
Chemical reactions transform reactants to products through intermediate states. These intermediates are often short-lived, making them hard to study. But by bringing a molecule to a temperature barely above absolute zero, scientists can 'trap' the reaction in the intermediate stage for a much longer time. In this study, scientists used photoionization to directly observe a reaction's reactants and products.
13-Jul-2020
National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory unites DOE labs against COVID-19
DOE/US Department of Energy
To focus its efforts against the COVID-19 pandemic, DOE is bringing the national laboratories together into the National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory.
2-Jul-2020
Designing better holograms
DOE/US Department of Energy
Researchers demonstrated novel ways to design and build materials for controlling light. The new materials have two layers of metasurfaces, overcoming the limits on conventional single-layer materials. The novel two-layer design enables a new level of control over light properties and more functionality for devices that use these materials.
2-Jul-2020
Stabilizing water loss in synthetic trees
DOE/US Department of Energy
Scientists are developing "synthetic trees" that work like their natural counterparts to serve in specific applications. In an important step, scientists fabricated synthetic leaves using nanoporous disks that control moisture at the scale of molecules to mimic natural transpiration. The disks use a novel, layered design topped with silicon pores to trap water vapor.
2-Jul-2020
Integrating variable signals in hydrogels
DOE/US Department of Energy
All living organisms have systems that can link multiple signals to manage tasks. This ability, called complex signal integration, is not found in artificial systems. This new study demonstrates a pathway for simple, soft artificial materials called hydrogel polymers to use multiple signals from external sources to produce distinct responses.
2-Jul-2020
Being exceptional in higher dimensions
DOE/US Department of Energy
By connecting electromagnetic waves and magnetism to create a system made of magnon polaritons, scientists demonstrated the existence of an "exceptional surface" for the first time. Exceptional surfaces were originally a purely mathematical concept, but recent research shows they have potential physical, real-world applications.
29-Jun-2020
Intense light pulses bounce on a crystalline bed without rumpling the atomic blanket
DOE/US Department of Energy
Scientists developed a new technique that uses intense X-ray pulses to measure how atoms move in a sheet of material one molecule thick. Scientists showed that movement of the atoms in a tungsten-selenium 'blanket' layer caused the layer to stretch but not wrinkle. The research can help produce materials with new optical and electronic properties.
17-Jun-2020
Nanodiamonds Slip N' Slide
DOE/US Department of Energy
Scientists tested the performance of a dry, oil-free lubricant that could improve efficiency and decrease waste in industrial machinery. The dry solid lubricant includes diamond nanoparticles. It creates a surface coating that reduces friction 20-fold compared to oil-based lubricants.
17-Jun-2020
LEGO™ Construction of Nanoparticle Assemblies
DOE/US Department of Energy
Scientists developed a new method of selectively attaching DNA strands to specific regions of nanoparticles. The DNA strands then dictate how the nanoparticles assemble into more complex architectures. The team used this approach to demonstrate 24 different nanoarchitectures.