https://phys.org/ en-us Latest news from US Department of Energy A gooey science experiment with his kids inspired Gabriel Veith—a researcher at the DOE Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)—to develop a new material that prevents lithium-ion batteries from bursting into flames. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-09-lithium-ion-battery-technology-mitigates.html Energy & Green Tech Thu, 04 Sep 2025 08:25:05 EDT news676193102 Simulations of quantum many-body systems are an important goal for nuclear and high-energy physics. Many-body problems involve systems that consist of many microscopic particles interacting at the level of quantum mechanics. They are much more difficult to describe than simple systems with just two particles. This means that even the most powerful conventional computers cannot simulate these problems. https://phys.org/news/2025-03-scientists-important-mitigating-errors-analog.html Quantum Physics Wed, 12 Mar 2025 05:21:43 EDT news660975698 Boiling hot water bubbles up into pools of vibrant teal and blue. The steam rises, burning anyone who gets too close. The water is acidic—sometimes as acidic as stomach acid. Microbes in a hot spring in Yellowstone National Park have evolved to live in such extreme circumstances. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-hot-insights-microbe-communities.html Ecology Fri, 28 Feb 2025 09:48:04 EST news659958481 A vast field of tall, skinny trees sways in a light breeze. In the future, poplar trees in a scene like this could be a source of sustainable fuel to power aircraft or heavy vehicles. They could also help us store more carbon in the soil. Both bioenergy and carbon storage are important strategies for reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere that causes climate change. https://phys.org/news/2025-02-illuminating-elements-feet-laser-tool.html Biotechnology Mon, 03 Feb 2025 15:23:05 EST news657818581 Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is developing a tokamak device called SPARC. The company aims to demonstrate the critical fusion energy milestone of producing more output power than input power for the first time in a device that can scale up to commercial power plant size. However, this achievement is only possible if the plasma doesn't melt the device. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-plasma-fusion-energy-power-louvers.html Plasma Physics Mon, 20 Jan 2025 11:53:49 EST news656596426 A team of researchers has discovered a new way to control the magnetic behavior of quantum materials using applied voltages. Specifically, the material lanthanum strontium manganite (LSMO), which is magnetic and metallic at low temperatures but non-magnetic and insulating when relatively warm, can be influenced by voltage. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-tuning-magnetism-voltage-path-spintronic.html Condensed Matter Thu, 16 Jan 2025 12:46:17 EST news656253973 At extremely high densities, quarks are expected to form pairs, as electrons do in a superconductor. This high-density quark behavior is called color superconductivity. The strength of pairing inside a color superconductor is difficult to calculate, but scientists have long known the strength's relationship to the pressure of dense matter. Measuring the size of neutron stars and how they deform during mergers tells us their pressure and confirms that neutron stars are indeed the densest visible matter in the universe. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-neutron-star-limits-superconductivity-dense.html General Physics Tue, 14 Jan 2025 16:34:02 EST news656094841 Collapsed dead stars, known as neutron stars, are a trillion times denser than lead, and their surface features are largely unknown. Nuclear theorists have explored mountain building mechanisms active on the moons and planets in our solar system. Some of these mechanisms suggest that neutron stars are likely to have mountains. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-neutron-star-mountains-ripples-space.html Astronomy Mon, 13 Jan 2025 17:27:03 EST news656011621 Sunlight is a powerful energy source that scientists can leverage to unlock important chemical conversions. In a recent study, researchers used solar energy with a two-step process to convert carbon dioxide (CO2), a potent greenhouse gas, into a valuable chemical commodity. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-01-chemical-power-solar-energy.html Energy & Green Tech Mon, 13 Jan 2025 15:07:33 EST news656003249 Attractive metal-metal bonding occurs in a variety of molecules made of metallic atoms such as Iridium (Ir). These molecules can have different spatial arrangements, called isomers. Current theoretical and experimental methods have shown the existence of two isomers for Ir-Ir molecular systems. However, researchers have not been able to predict the proportions of these two isomers or how they interact. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-advanced-techniques-accurate-picture-molecular.html Analytical Chemistry Mon, 13 Jan 2025 15:07:23 EST news656003241 Protons and other subatomic particles that are subject to the strong nuclear force have a complex structure that involves even more fundamental constituents called quarks and gluons. These quarks and gluons bind under the influence of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). QCD is the theory of strong interaction of quarks and the role of color symmetry. https://phys.org/news/2025-01-approach-merges-theoretical-fundamentals-experimental.html General Physics Mon, 13 Jan 2025 11:15:03 EST news655989301 In a study appearing in PRX Energy, researchers propose a way to improve the performance of electroluminescent cooling by using multilayer semiconductors. The approach, called a multijunction configuration, is already used in some special photovoltaic solar cells. https://techxplore.com/news/2024-12-theorists-approach-electroluminescent-cooling-inverted.html Electronics & Semiconductors Mon, 16 Dec 2024 14:42:08 EST news653582526 A study published in the journal Optica demonstrates live plant imaging of several representative plant samples, including the biofuel crop sorghum. By employing a novel detector, researchers obtained clear images of living sorghum plants with a light far dimmer than starlight. This advance enables imaging of delicate, light-sensitive samples, such as biofuel crops, without disturbing or damaging the plants. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-infrared-quantum-ghost-imaging-illuminates.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 13 Dec 2024 10:33:10 EST news653308380 The interactions between light and nitroaromatic hydrocarbon molecules have important implications for chemical processes in our atmosphere that can lead to smog and pollution. However, changes in molecular geometry due to interactions with light can be very difficult to measure because they occur at sub-Angstrom length scales and femtosecond time scales. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-ultrafast-electron-imaging-captures-nuclear.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 10 Dec 2024 15:24:11 EST news653066647 Nuclear theorists at Brookhaven National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory have successfully employed a new theoretical approach to calculate the Collins-Soper kernel, a quantity that describes how the distribution of quarks' transverse momentum inside a proton changes with the collision energy. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-theory-based-approach-access-quarks.html General Physics Mon, 09 Dec 2024 16:56:19 EST news652985770 When molecules interact with ultraviolet (UV) light, they can change shape quickly, producing strain—stress in a molecule's chemical structure due to an increase in the molecule's internal energy. These processes typically take just tens of picoseconds (one millionth of a millionth of a second). Advanced capabilities at X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) facilities now enable scientists to create images of these ultrafast structural changes. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-evidence-interaction-hydrocarbon-molecule-strained.html Analytical Chemistry Thu, 05 Dec 2024 17:11:03 EST news652641061 Communities of microbes (microbiomes), particularly in soils, can be startlingly diverse, with as many as 10,000 species in just a cup of material. Scientists are working to understand how microbiomes and their members respond to their environments. These processes can profoundly shape the properties and composition of soils. https://phys.org/news/2024-12-nutrients-vitamin-b12-microbial-growth.html Ecology Mon, 02 Dec 2024 16:42:03 EST news652380121 When a star dies in a supernova, one possible outcome is for the remains to become a neutron star. Inside a neutron star, the protons and electrons combine into uncharged neutrons. This substance is called neutron matter. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-density-simulations-clearer-insights-neutron.html General Physics Wed, 27 Nov 2024 15:46:41 EST news651944797 Copper is a promising catalyst for sustainably converting carbon dioxide into substances with more electrons (called reduced species). This is an important step in converting carbon dioxide into fuels. This reaction is often initiated by electrical energy, but it can also be achieved using solar energy to produce solar fuels. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-ray-reveal-unexpected-role-copper.html Analytical Chemistry Tue, 26 Nov 2024 09:09:33 EST news651834571 Banks of computer screens stacked two and three high line the walls. The screens are covered with numbers and graphs that are unintelligible to an untrained eye. But they tell a story to the operators staffing the particle accelerator control room. The numbers describe how the accelerator is speeding up tiny particles to smash into targets or other particles. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-adjusting-machine.html General Physics Mon, 18 Nov 2024 16:37:04 EST news651170221 Scientists can determine the mass of subatomic particles that are built from quarks by looking at the particles' energy and momentum in four-dimensional spacetime. One of the quantities that encode this information, called the trace anomaly, is linked to the fact that physical observables from high-energy experiments depend on the energy/momentum scales involved. https://phys.org/news/2024-11-scientists-gain-insights-mass-hadrons.html General Physics Fri, 15 Nov 2024 14:35:04 EST news650903698 Patience and complexity are the hallmarks of fundamental scientific research. Work at the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science takes time. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-cool-journey-center-earth-superconducting.html Superconductivity Mon, 28 Oct 2024 09:42:03 EDT news649327321 Heating a plasma for fusion research requires megawatts of power. One approach that research tokamaks use to achieve the necessary power input is neutral beam injection (NBI). With NBI, fast neutral particles are generated in a device called a beam source and then injected into the plasma. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-plasma-fusion-devices-unravel-electrons.html Plasma Physics Fri, 25 Oct 2024 12:40:34 EDT news649078824 Just like we use photos to reflect on memories of our past, astrophysicists want to use images of far-off galaxies to understand what the universe was like in its juvenile years. But current imaging technology can only reach so far back in history—90 to 95% of the volume of our 14-billion-year-old universe remains unseen. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-view-years-universe.html Astronomy Tue, 22 Oct 2024 10:06:07 EDT news648810364 Future fusion power plants will require good plasma confinement to sustain reactions and generate energy. One way to contain plasma for fusion reactions is to use a tokamak, a device that applies magnetic fields to "bottle" plasma. However, magnetic islands, a type of instability in the plasma, can destroy the confining magnetic field if they grow large enough. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-fusion-device-plasma-steep-ion.html Plasma Physics Tue, 15 Oct 2024 16:40:01 EDT news648229063 Scientists and engineers at the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) have reached a new milestone in isotope studies. They accelerated a high-power beam of uranium ions and delivered a record 10.4 kilowatts of continuous beam power to a target. The work is published in the journal Physical Review Accelerators and Beams. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-scientists-uranium-power.html General Physics Thu, 10 Oct 2024 10:23:39 EDT news647774617 As a kid, you may have tried to dig a hole in your backyard to reach China. Obviously, that didn't happen. But digging out a lot of ground can be quite productive. Instead of reaching another country, the scientists, engineers, and construction workers on the LBNF-DUNE project dug up rock to enable groundbreaking science. https://phys.org/news/2024-10-neutrino-lbnf-dune-excavation-tons.html General Physics Mon, 07 Oct 2024 16:15:03 EDT news647536501 Scientists are conducting experiments in search of evidence of a possible critical point in the Quantum Chromodynamics phase diagram. Quantum chromodynamics describes how the strong force binds quarks and antiquarks together to form protons, neutrons, and other particles known as hadrons. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-simulating-critical-quark-gluon-fluid.html General Physics Tue, 24 Sep 2024 16:08:47 EDT news646412924 Gazing out on a freshwater pond, you may see tiny green plants with oval-shaped leaves floating in clusters. In overgrown ponds, these plants coat the water's surface. These plants—called duckweed or water lentils—can grow so fast that they can double their numbers in just one to two days. But what you can't see in that pond is the evolutionary battle between the plants and microbes trying to invade them. https://phys.org/news/2024-09-evolutionary-battleground-microbes.html Plants & Animals Thu, 12 Sep 2024 16:15:31 EDT news645376522 Topological materials are materials that have unusual properties that arise because their wavefunction—the physical law guiding the electrons—is knotted or twisted. Where the topological material meets the surrounding space, the wavefunction must unwind. To accommodate this abrupt change, the electrons at the edge of the material must behave differently than they do in the main bulk of the material. https://phys.org/news/2024-08-superconductivity-edge-supercurrents.html Superconductivity Mon, 26 Aug 2024 09:42:31 EDT news643884149