News Releases

Physical Sciences

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 1-May-2025 11:08 ET (1-May-2025 15:08 GMT/UTC)

Ships now spew less sulfur, but warming has sped up

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New findings document fewer ship tracks, reduced cloud cover, and boosted warming after ship emissions regulations took effect in 2020.

Journal: Geophysical Research Letters

Ability to track nanoscale flow in soft matter could prove pivotal discovery

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists developed a novel technique using X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy to study soft matter at the nanoscale. This method enables precise determination of the flow behavior of nanoparticles in soft matter exposed to an external stimulus.

Journal: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

X-ray imagery of vibrating diamond opens avenues for quantum sensing

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Supported by the Q-NEXT quantum center, scientists at three research institutions capture the pulsing motion of atoms in diamond, uncovering the relationship between the diamond’s strain and the behavior of the quantum information hosted within.

Journal: Physical Review Applied

Heating for fusion: Why toast plasma when you can microwave it!

DOE/Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Can plasma be sufficiently heated inside a tokamak using only microwaves? New research suggests it can! Eliminating the central ohmic heating coil normally used in tokamaks will free up much-needed space for a more compact, efficient spherical tokamak.

Journal: Nuclear Fusion
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Novel ultrafast electron microscopy technique advances understanding of processes applicable to brain-like computing

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Argonne team developed a new microscopy technique that uses electrical pulses to track the nanosecond dynamics within a material that is known to form charge density waves. Controlling these waves may lead to faster and more energy-efficient electronics.

Journal: Physical Review Letters

Born to modulate: Researchers reveal origins of climate-controlling particles

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Aerosol particles imbue climate models with uncertainty. New work by PNNL researchers reveals where in the world and under what conditions new particles are born.

Journal: Nature
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Pursuing the middle path to scientific discovery

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists have made significant strides in understanding the properties of a ferroelectric material under an electric field. This breakthrough holds potential for advances in computer memory, lasers and sensors for ultraprecise measurements.

Journal: Science

Atomic 'GPS' elucidates movement during ultrafast material transitions

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have created the first-ever atomic movies showing how atoms rearrange locally within a quantum material as it transitions from an insulator to a metal. With the help of these movies, the researchers discovered a new material phase that settles a yearslong scientific debate and could facilitate the design of new transitioning materials with commercial applications.

Journal: Nature Materials

Researchers discover faster, more energy-efficient way to manufacture an industrially important chemical

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The reactivity of zirconium on silicon nitride enhances the conversion of propane into propylene, a key commodity chemical needed to make polypropylene. This finding hints at the reactivity researchers might achieve with other nontraditional catalysts.

Journal: Journal of the American Chemical Society

Argonne-led research working toward reducing electronic waste with biodegradable luminescent polymers

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Argonne-led research working toward reducing electronic waste with biodegradable luminescent polymers with high light-emitting efficiencies.

Journal: Nature Sustainability

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