News Archive | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

With ‘Ribbons’ of Graphene, Width Matters

Using graphene ribbons of unimaginably small widths – just several atoms across – a group of researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) has found a novel way to “tune” the wonder material, causing the extremely efficient conductor of electricity to act as a semiconductor.

Consider the ‘Anticrystal’

Physicists at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Chicago have evidence that a new concept should undergird our understanding of most materials: the anticrystal, a theoretical solid that is completely disordered.

New Detector Continues Search for Fourth Neutrino

Physicists from Virginia Tech will soon have a new detector to monitor as a 30-ton, 40-foot-long metal tank was lowered into place June 23 at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermilab site.

Adding Lithium Boosts Transparency and Conductivity of Graphite

A team of researchers from the University of Maryland Energy Research Center and Monash University in Australia, with support from the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, has developed a nearly transparent, highly conductive ultrathin graphite sheet that can be used to create more efficient solar cells and highly sensitive touchscreens.

New Laser Ion Source for Brookhaven Accelerators Exceeds Expectations

Different types of atoms can be ionized within seconds, a switchover that used to take several hours.

Water Behavior Breakthrough Opens a Crucial Door in Chemistry

A multi-institutional team has resolved a long-unanswered question about how two of the world’s most common substances interact.

The Secret Life of Aerosols

Scientists recently gathered at the Deparment of Energy's Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory to discuss ways to more accurately chronicle the clandestine lives of these aerosols in the lab and the field.

Read more about The Secret Life of Aerosols

Up in Flames: Evidence Confirms Combustion Theory

Berkeley Lab and University of Hawaii research outlines the story of soot, with implications for cleaner-burning fuels.

Scientists Study the Effects of Warming on Puerto Rican Forest

With support from the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, researchers from Michigan Technological University, the U.S. Forest Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey are trying to get a handle on the impact that climate change—particularly warming—is likely to have on the tropical forests of the world by studying the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico.

Diamond Plates Create Nanostructures Through Pressure, Not Chemistry

Researchers at Sandia National Laboratories have developed a new and original method of using simple pressure – a kind of high-tech embossing – to produce finer and cleaner results in forming silver nanostructures than current chemical methods.

Metal Particles in Solids Aren't as Fixed as They Seem, New Memristor Study Shows

In work that unmasks some of the magic behind memristors and "resistive random access memory," or RRAM—cutting-edge computer components that combine logic and memory functions—researchers at the University of Michigan have shown that the metal particles in memristors don't stay put as previously thought.

Massive 30-ton MicroBooNE Particle Detector Moved Into Place, Will See Neutrinos This Year

The MicroBooNE detector – a 30-ton, 40-foot-long cylindrical metal tank designed to detect ghostly particles called neutrinos – was carefully transported by truck across the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermilab site, from the warehouse building it was constructed in to the experimental hall three miles away.