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.
Modern medicine increasingly relies on targeted drug delivery—a process during which tiny particles (nanoparticles) transport drugs to specific parts of the body. To ensure these treatments are safe and effective, scientists ...
Bio & Medicine
12 hours ago
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Neutron sources can be directly identified from measured spectra rather than proxies using inference tools adapted from cosmology, according to a University of Michigan Engineering study published in Physical Review Applied. ...
General Physics
Jul 6, 2026
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Proteins are essential molecules in living systems. They move, interact and organize themselves to carry out a wide range of functions, from helping cells communicate to forming structures inside the cell. In many cases, ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Apr 23, 2026
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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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76
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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558
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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