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While studying a compound made of the elements cerium- rhodium-indium, researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have discovered that a magnetic state can coexist with superconductivity in a specific temperature and pressure range. The discovery is a step toward a deeper understanding of how Nature is organized in regimes ranging from the fabric of the cosmos to the most fundamental components of elementary particles.

Electrons in atoms move in a choreographed motion on a time scale of attoseconds (one quintillionth, or one billionth of a billionth of a second). To observe this ultrafast motion, physicists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have theoretically demonstrated an attosecond pump-probe technique that captures the steps in this intricate dance by ionizing the atom at selected times. The development of the proposed technique might someday allow scientists to actually see into a world of electron motion.

A team of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists have developed a method for growing crystalline gallium nitride films at lower temperatures than industry standards. By eliminating the higher temperatures and harsh, reactive environments that currently limit the types of materials used as substrates, the discovery could greatly increase the use of crystalline gallium nitride films in optical-electronic devices, like blue LEDs and laser diodes, high-density optical data storage devices, flat panel displays and solid state lighting.

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a low-density, energy-absorbing foam that could provide a boost to the nation's surfboard manufacturing market. TufFoam was originally conceived by Sandia for the National Nuclear Security Administration to protect electronic and mechanical structures from harsh environments. But the foam likely has other applications.

A team of Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists, in collaboration with researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, Colo., and Albion College, in Albion, Mich., have achieved quantum key distribution (QKD) at telecommunications industry wavelengths in a 50-kilometer (31 mile) optical fiber. The work could accelerate the development of QKD for secure communications in optical fibers at distances beyond current technological limits.

Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Nevada, Reno, Ludwig-Maximilian-University in Germany, and the Max-Planck-Institute for Quantum Optics in Germany, have developed a new method for using a laser beam to accelerate ions. The novel method may enable important advances in compact ion accelerators, medical physics and inertial confinement fusion.

Two Sandia researchers are studying key phenomena that control hydrogen-fueled PEM (proton exchange membrane or polymer electrolyte membrane) fuel cells. Before PEM fuel cells can be used to routinely power automobiles and homes, improved durability, as well as techniques for managing the water generated as a byproduct of electricity production in fuel cells, must be achieved. The research focuses on both computational models and physical experimentation to examine the phenomena.

In work published in the current (Jan. 13) issue of Science, a team of scientists from the Sandia National Laboratories, the National Research Council in Ottawa, Canada, and elsewhere effectually rode molecules to watch pairs of joined nitric oxide molecules (called NO dimers) split after being excited by an ultrashort laser pulse.

As part of the Department of Energy-funded FreedomCAR program, Sandia National Laboratories' Power Sources Technology Group is researching ways to make lithium-ion batteries work longer and safer. The research could lead to these batteries being used in new hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in the next five to ten years.

Sandia's recent work on border security is well on its way to providing an enormously valuable national asset by providing federal agencies with a reliable and comprehensive simulation capability that lets officials "test drive" various security solutions prior to investing in them.