Oak Ridge National Laboratory (DOE)
Curious case of germanium-72
June 2, 2011 9:29 am | by Leo Williams | News | CommentsPhysicists from Oak Ridge National Laborator, the Univ. of Tennessee, and Germany's GSI in Darmstadt recently used ORNL's Jaguar supercomputer to explore the pair bonding of neutrons in one uncommon isotope—germanium-72. In doing so they discovered that changes in temperature and rotation take the nucleus through at least two physical phases.
Characterizing the renegade protein in Huntington's Disease
May 19, 2011 5:15 am | by Agatha Bardoel | News | CommentsAn ORNL-Univ. of Tennessee Graduate School of Medicine collaboration has for the first time successfully characterized the earliest structural formation of the disease type of the protein "huntingtin" that creates such havoc in Huntington's Disease.
Silver ionic liquids are powerful solvents for oil industry
May 16, 2011 10:57 am | by Agatha Bardoel | News | CommentsThe separation of olefins and paraffin, two hydrocarbon compounds in petroleum waste streams, is a heavy expense for the petrochemical industry. Oak Ridge National Lab research using powerful spectrometry methods reveal that silver complex-based ionic liquids have considerable promise as economical alternatives to existing solvents.
ORNL solar cell technology cranks up efficiency
April 29, 2011 7:38 am | News | CommentsWith the creation of a 3D nanocone-based solar cell platform, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Jun Xu has boosted the light-to-power conversion efficiency of photovoltaics by nearly 80%.
Nanotechnologists: Taking lessons from nature
April 29, 2011 4:47 am | by David Salisbury | News | CommentsIn the workaday world, engineers and scientists go to great lengths to make the devices we use as perfect as possible. When we flip on a light switch or turn the key on the car, we expect the lights to come on and the engine to start every time, with only rare exceptions. They have done so by using a top-down design process combined with the application of large amounts of energy to increase reliability by suppressing natural variability. However, this brute-force approach will not work in the nanoscale world that scientists are beginning to probe in the search for new electrical and mechanical devices.
Conducting ferroelectrics: The key to new electronic memory?
April 26, 2011 4:29 am | News | CommentsNovel properties of ferroelectric materials discovered at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory are moving scientists one step closer to realizing a new paradigm of electronic memory storage. A new study revealed that contrary to previous assumptions, domain walls in ferroelectric materials act as dynamic conductors instead of static ones.
Nature sets standard for nanoscience revolution
April 19, 2011 5:12 am | News | CommentsBy striving for control and perfection in everything from computer chips to commercial jets, scientists and engineers actually exclude a fundamental force that allows nature to outperform even their best efforts. Although it may appear to defy logic, imperfections, and the seemingly randomness among even the lowly bacteria help keep nature a couple of steps ahead, according to Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers.
TextOre license puts ORNL's Piranha in its tank
April 5, 2011 5:23 am | News | CommentsTextOre's licensing of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Piranha is enabling the Virginia-based company to introduce a powerful search and mining tool capable of processing large amounts of text data from the Internet.
Thermoelectric materials: recycling energy
March 31, 2011 5:50 am | News | CommentsThermoelectric materials are a hot new technology that is now being studied intensively by researchers funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Frontier Research Centers. An Oak Ridge National Laboratory researcher is using neutron scattering and computer simulation to investigate the microscopic structure and dynamics of thermoelectric materials so that researchers can make them more efficient for new, energy-saving applications.
Key plant traits yield more sugar for biofuels
March 29, 2011 5:24 am | News | CommentsNew clues about plant structure are helping researchers from the Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center narrow down a large collection of poplar tree candidates and identify winners for future use in biofuel production.
Japan earthquake, tsunami spell need for preparedness
March 29, 2011 4:23 am | News | CommentsPerhaps lost in the recent debates related to the earthquake and tsunami in Japan is that natural disasters and not nuclear energy should be the focus, says Oak Ridge National Laboratory's John Sorensen, an emergency preparedness expert.
Scientists use neutrons to study properties of piezoelectric ceramics
March 25, 2011 5:42 am | News | CommentsStress, fatigue, and heavy loads aren't always negative elements of work—in fact, they are what attracted Jennifer Forrester to the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Neutron analysis yields insight into bacteria for solar energy
March 23, 2011 7:23 am | News | CommentsStructural studies of some of nature's most efficient light-harvesting systems are lighting the way for new generations of biologically inspired solar cell devices. Researchers from Washington Univ. in St. Louis and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory used small-angle neutron scattering to analyze the structure of chlorosomes in green photosynthetic bacteria.
Jaguar helps researchers unravel the magnetic fields of supernovas
March 7, 2011 4:04 am | News | CommentsA team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory is getting closer to explaining the origins of CCSN explosions with the help of Jaguar, a Cray XT5 supercomputer.
Computational scientists use supercomputers to explore ice sheet dynamics
February 28, 2011 4:59 am | News | CommentsRecently, Rhode Island-sized chunks of ice have separated from Greenland and Antarctica, garnering worldwide attention. And, although ice sheet models are already used, the models are not easily adapted for use in global climate models. To help with this issue, the Scalable, Efficient, and Accurate Community Ice Sheet Model project began on Jaguar at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Researchers use Jaguar to shed light on the last major dark spot in astrophysics
February 24, 2011 3:56 am | News | CommentsScientists began investigating the mysteries of space plasma decades ago but are still at a loss to explain many aspects of plasma's behavior, especially the random, chaotic movements known as turbulence. However, thanks to the help of Jaguar, researchers have been able to shed light on this mystery.
'Fingerprints' match molecular simulations with reality
February 22, 2011 6:53 am | News | CommentsA theoretical technique developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is bringing supercomputer simulations and experimental results closer together by identifying common "fingerprints."
Lignin 'lite' switchgrass boosts biofuel yield by more than one-third
February 15, 2011 4:05 am | News | CommentsBioethanol from new lines of native perennial prairie grass could become less costly because of plant engineering by The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation and fermentation research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
ORNL's Jaguar helps BMI win award, nation save fuel
February 14, 2011 5:38 am | News | CommentsSouth Carolina-based BMI Corp. used computing time on the Jaguar supercomputer to analyze complex models of tractor trailers. The work led them to create undertray add-on components that could improve average fuel mileage from 6 to 6.5 mpg. The increase is significant: 18-wheelers collectively travel 130 billion miles per year.
High-Performance Innovation
February 10, 2011 8:32 am | by Paul Livingstone | Articles | CommentsAs researchers scramble to deliver R&D results and bring products to market, they are turning to high-performance computing. Vendors are competing for their business. Can everyone adapt to the cloud?
Neutron analysis reveals 'two doors down' superconductivity link
February 8, 2011 3:22 am | News | CommentsNeutron scattering analysis of two families of iron-based materials suggests that the magnetic interactions thought responsible for high-temperature superconductivity may lie "two doors down": The key magnetic exchange pairings occur in a next-nearest-neighbor ordering of atoms, rather than adjacent atoms.
Neutron analysis confirms 'tall order' sunlight-to-hydrogen system works
February 4, 2011 3:27 am | News | CommentsResearchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed a biohybrid photoconversion system—based on the interaction of photosynthetic plant proteins with synthetic polymers—that can convert visible light into hydrogen fuel.
Developing a potential life-saving mathematical tool
February 3, 2011 4:33 am | News | CommentsMath and medicine are coming together to help people who have suffered an abdominal aortic aneurysm, which with 15,000 is the 13th-leading cause of death in the United States.
Neutron scattering study yields new insights into virus life cycle
January 24, 2011 4:08 am | News | CommentsA research team from ORNL and North Carolina State Univ. is studying how viruses change their structure when they move between different host species. Understanding how a virus reorganizes itself when it goes from a mosquito to a human is critical for the development of medicines that can block the spread of viruses. The team's most recent study focuses on the Sindbis virus, a member of the arbovirus family that causes infectious diseases like yellow fever, dengue fever, and West Nile fever.
Spallation Neutron Source's VULCAN to probe ITER's superconducting cable
January 17, 2011 11:15 am | by Deborah Counce | News | CommentsScientists and engineers at the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are working with the U.S. ITER Project Office at ORNL, the Japanese Atomic Energy Agency, and the ITER Organization to resolve issues with a critical component of the experimental fusion energy facility ITER. The VULCAN Engineering Diffractometer at SNS is being used to examine superconducting cables for ITER's central solenoid magnet, which induces the electrical current needed to confine and shape the plasma inside the reactor.
