Oak Ridge National Laboratory (DOE)
ORNL-led team advances science of carbon accounting
March 6, 2012 9:43 am | News | CommentsDetermining with precision the carbon balance of North America is complicated, but researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have devised a method that considerably advances the science. In developing their approach, the team took advantage of inventory records from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico that track changes in the amount of carbon in various reservoirs such as plants, soils, and wood.
ORNL completes first phase of Titan supercomputer transition
March 1, 2012 7:04 am | News | CommentsOak Ridge National Laboratory's Jaguar supercomputer has completed the first phase of an upgrade that will keep it among the most powerful scientific computing systems in the world. When the upgrade process is completed this autumn, the system will be renamed Titan and will be capable of 10 to 20 petaflops.
Tool puts spotlight on nation's electricity generation capacity
February 28, 2012 6:30 am | News | CommentsA technology developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory could streamline and strengthen the process for siting power plants while potentially enhancing the nation's energy security.
Climate scientists improve detail by computing in concert
February 27, 2012 5:29 pm | by Eric Gedenk | News | CommentsResearchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are sharing computational resources and expertise to improve the detail and performance of the Community Earth System Model, a scientific application code that is the product of one of the world's largest collaborations of climate researchers.
Mysterious electron acceleration explained
February 27, 2012 2:48 am | by David L. Chandler, MIT News Office | News | CommentsA mysterious phenomenon detected by space probes has finally been explained, thanks to a massive computer simulation that was able to precisely align with details of spacecraft observations. The finding could not only solve an astrophysical puzzle, but might also lead to a better ability to predict high-energy electron streams in space that could damage satellites.
Showing Their Metal
February 15, 2012 7:22 am | by Paul Livingstone | Articles | CommentsInventing new metal products is tough. R&D finds out how recent R&D 100 Award-winning technologies have fared in the marketplace.
Microscopy explores nanowires' weakest link
February 13, 2012 8:33 am | News | CommentsIndividual atoms can make or break electronic properties in one of the world's smallest known conductors—quantum nanowires. Microscopic analysis at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is delivering a rare glimpse into how the atomic structure of the conducting nanowires affects their electronic behavior.
Searching for a solid that flows like a liquid
February 2, 2012 8:06 am | News | CommentsA series of neutron scattering experiments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and other research centers is exploring the key question about a long-sought quantum state of matter called supersolidity: Does it exist?
ORNL microscopy reveals atomic antenna behavior in graphene
January 31, 2012 7:12 am | News | CommentsAtomic-level defects in graphene could be a path forward to smaller and faster electronic devices, according to a study led by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The study suggests that point defects, composed of silicon atoms that replace individual carbon atoms in graphene, could aid attempts to transfer data on an atomic scale by coupling light with electrons.
Metadynamics technique offers insight into mineral growth and dissolution
January 24, 2012 3:42 am | News | CommentsBy using a novel technique to better understand mineral growth and dissolution, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are improving predictions of mineral reactions and laying the groundwork for applications ranging from keeping oil pipes clear to sequestering radium.
Neutron scattering provides window into surface interactions
January 17, 2012 10:36 am | News | CommentsTo better understand the fundamental behavior of molecules at surfaces, researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are combining the powers of neutron scattering with chemical analysis. Scientists have a fundamental interest in how molecules behave at solid surfaces because surface interactions influence chemistry. Understanding these interactions allows researchers to tailor materials for a specific desirable outcome.
ORNL experiments prove nanoscale metallic conductivity in ferroelectrics
January 9, 2012 10:00 am | News | CommentsThe prospect of electronics at the nanoscale may be even more promising with the first observation of metallic conductance in ferroelectric nanodomains by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
ORNL technology could mean improved prosthesis design
January 3, 2012 8:37 am | News | CommentsSoldiers returning from war who have lost a leg could lead a more active lifestyle with the help of a technology being developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers. The researchers are perfecting a portable, wearable system to measure walking patterns that can be applied to real-world activities in a variety of settings.
Supercomputer reveals details behind drug-processing protein model
December 7, 2011 4:22 am | News | CommentsSupercomputer simulations at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are giving scientists access to a key class of proteins involved in drug detoxification. Researchers have performed simulations to observe the motions of water molecules in a class of enzymes called P450s, which are responsible for processing a large fraction of drugs taken by humans.
Carbon dioxide emissions rebound quickly after global financial crisis
December 5, 2011 8:09 am | News | CommentsThe sharp decrease in global carbon dioxide emissions attributed to the worldwide financial crisis in 2009 quickly rebounded in 2010, according to research supported by the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
DOE captures fugitives to reduce its carbon emissions
November 16, 2011 10:00 am | News | CommentsIn terms of emissions, just one pound of sulfur hexafluoride, a nontoxic gas used in electric insulation, is equivalent to about 11 tons of carbon dioxide. Energy Department experts are hunting down this and other fugitive carbon emissions and have already prevented the release of 600,000 metric tons of carbon equivalent.
NICS to begin strategic engagement with Intel
November 15, 2011 12:14 pm | News | CommentsThe University of Tennessee's National Institute for Computational Sciences announced at the SC11 conference that it has entered a multi-year strategic engagement with Intel Corporation to pursue development of next-generation, high-performance computing solutions based on the Intel’s Many Integrated Core architecture.
'A little chaos near the edge'
November 2, 2011 8:56 am | News | CommentsHeated to extreme temperatures of up to 150 million C, the plasma in ITER's giant experimental fusion reactor will be fed a fuel of frozen pellets of deuterium-tritium, fired into the tokamak vacuum vessel by pellet injectors. This new system, now under testing, is a key component for what will be the largest-ever tokamak.
First-of-a-kind tension wood study broadens biofuel R & D
October 25, 2011 12:44 pm | News | CommentsTension wood, which forms naturally in hardwood trees in response to bending stress, possesses unique features, such as double the cellulose density of regular wood, that make it attractive as a bioenergy feedstock. For the first time, a comprehensive study of this wood and it’s suitability for sugar release has been conducted.
Unexpected magnetic excitations in doped insulator surprise researchers
October 24, 2011 4:46 am | News | CommentsWhen doping a disordered magnetic insulator material with atoms of a nonmagnetic material, the conventional wisdom is that the magnetic interactions between the magnetic ions in the material will be weakened. However, when the antiferromagnetic insulator barium manganate was doped, the barium manganate's magnetic excitations were surprisingly unreduced in strength and energy.
ORNL awards contract to Cray for Titan supercomputer
October 11, 2011 8:51 am | News | CommentsOak Ridge National Laboratory has awarded a contract to Cray Inc. to increase the Jaguar supercomputer's science impact and energy efficiency. The upgrade, which will provide advanced capabilities in modeling and simulation, will transform the DOE Office of Science-supported Cray XT5 system, currently capable of 2.3 million billion calculations per second (petaflops), into a Cray XK6 system with a peak speed between 10 and 20 petaflops.
Contract awarded for ITER early delivery cooling water system equipment
October 10, 2011 4:49 am | News | CommentsOak Ridge National Laboratory has awarded a $13.2 million task order to AREVA Federal Services for fabrication of five drain tanks for the ITER tokamak cooling water system. ITER is an international project to demonstrate the feasibility of commercial fusion energy.
High-performance simulation uncovers three classes of protein motion
September 30, 2011 5:53 am | News | CommentsMolecular motion in proteins comes in three distinct classes, according to a collaboration by researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee. The research team combined high-performance computer simulation with neutron scattering experiments to understand atomic-level motions that underpin the operations of proteins.
'Low tech' light in neutron beam illuminates photosynthesis in bacteria
September 28, 2011 4:46 am | News | CommentsResearchers at the Bio-SANS instrument at the High Flux Isotope Reactor are getting a leg up in their research from a "low tech" lighting tool that can be fixed to their samples and then pushed directly into the neutron beam, to illuminate the response of layers of cyanobacteria to changes in light.
ORNL discovers amazing electrical properties in polymers
September 22, 2011 9:24 am | News | CommentsCrystals and ceramics pale when compared to a material researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory discovered that has 10 times their piezoelectric effect, making it suitable for perhaps hundreds of everyday uses.
