MIT researchers developed a low-temperature process for extracting battery-grade lithium from the common mineral spodumene. The closed-loop process could help the U.S. tap into its own abundant sources of lithium, a critical element that is currently refined primarily in China.

An extremely fast microscopy method to research the interaction of light and matter makes it possible to study optical processes on very short timescales. To this end, a German-Italian research team is combining holographic imaging with ultrafast spectroscopy in an innovative way. In this manner, even extremely short-lived electronic and magnetic phenomena – which play a major role in the development and application of novel energy materials – can be observed. The research was conducted as part of an international collaboration between scientists from the Institute for Physical Chemistry at Heidelberg University, the Polytechnic University of Milan, and the Institute for Photonics and Nanotechnologies in Milan (Italy).

Researchers found that an electron experiences a magnetic field of different strength when traveling through each mirror-image form. This asymmetric behavior not only challenges conventional assumptions but also lends support to a theory about how life began on Earth.