Neutron techniques encompass a group of experimental methods that use beams of thermal, cold, or fast neutrons to probe the structure, dynamics, and magnetic properties of materials at atomic to mesoscopic length scales. Principal methods include neutron diffraction for crystallographic and magnetic structure determination, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) for studying nanoscale inhomogeneities, and inelastic or quasielastic neutron scattering for characterizing lattice vibrations, molecular motions, and spin excitations. These techniques exploit the neutron’s charge neutrality, nuclear-specific scattering cross sections, and magnetic moment, enabling high sensitivity to light elements, isotopic contrast variation, and direct measurement of magnetic correlations in condensed-matter, soft-matter, and biological systems.
NASA is joining international partners to hunt for ice on the moon in support of future human exploration. The agency is providing a water-detecting instrument, the Neutron Spectrometer System (NSS), to the Lunar Polar Exploration ...
Space Exploration
Apr 4, 2026
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In the air people breathe, the water on Earth, the stars in the sky and more, atoms are the building blocks that make up the universe. Understanding the structure of the atomic nucleus is crucial for research with implications ...
Condensed Matter
Mar 31, 2026
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71
In the universe, thermonuclear fusion is a common reaction: it is the source of energy for stars. On Earth, producing energy using this process is difficult due to problems with controlling the plasma emitting significant ...
Plasma Physics
Sep 11, 2025
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185
Using small angle neutron and X-ray scattering, researchers from the European Spallation Source and RWTH Aachen University have compared the nanostructure of gluten-free and normal spaghetti, finding that the kind with gluten ...
Nanophysics
Sep 8, 2025
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60
One of ANSTO's advanced imaging instruments Dingo now delivers a rare fusion of simulation and radiobiology, becoming a launchpad for an innovative neutron therapy innovation.
General Physics
Jul 25, 2025
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In a physics first, a team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created a way to make beams of neutrons travel in curves. These Airy beams (named for English scientist George ...
General Physics
Apr 17, 2025
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159
Tracking targeted drug delivery is often a challenge due to limitations in current imaging techniques. A recent study by Tokyo's Waseda University reports a breakthrough imaging technique that allows direct and highly sensitive ...
Bio & Medicine
Mar 12, 2025
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41
Multiferroic materials, in which electric and magnetic properties are combined in promising ways, will be the heart of new solutions for data storage, data transmission, and quantum computers. Meanwhile, understanding the ...
Condensed Matter
Feb 6, 2025
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59
In physics, the term "isotropy" means a system where the properties are the same in all directions. For fusion, neutron energy isotropy is an important measurement that analyzes the streams of neutrons coming from the device ...
Plasma Physics
Feb 3, 2025
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86
The temperature of elementary particles has been observed in the radioactive glow following the collision of two neutron stars and the birth of a black hole. This has, for the first time, made it possible to measure the microscopic, ...
Astronomy
Oct 30, 2024
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