Shedding light on superconducting disorder

25-Sep-2024 - The importance of disorder in physics is only matched by the difficulty to study it. For example, the remarkable properties of high-temperature superconductors are greatly affected by variations in the chemical composition of the solid. Techniques that enable measurements of such disorder and its ...

Detecting light in a different dimension

Polymer nanostructures longer than wide make graphene a better light detector

14-Nov-2018 - Scientists from the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) have dramatically improved the response of graphene to light through self-assembling wire-like nanostructures that conduct electricity. The improvement could pave the way for the development of graphene-based detectors that can quickly ...

Study IDs link between sugar signaling and regulation of oil production in plants

24-Mar-2017 - Even plants have to live on an energy budget. While they're known for converting solar energy into chemical energy in the form of sugars, plants have sophisticated biochemical mechanisms for regulating how they spend that energy. Making oils costs a lot. By exploring the details of this delicate ...

X-rays and electrons join forces to map catalytic reactions in real-time

01-Jul-2015 - A new technique pioneered at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory reveals atomic-scale changes during catalytic reactions in real time and under real operating conditions. A team of scientists used a newly developed reaction chamber to combine x-ray absorption ...

Compact batteries enhanced by spontaneous silver matrix formations

Scientists use x-rays to map internal atomic transformations and advance promising lithium-based batteries

12-Jan-2015 - In a promising lithium-based battery, the formation of a highly conductive silver matrix transforms a material otherwise plagued by low conductivity. To optimize these multi-metallic batteries - and enhance the flow of electricity - scientists needed a way to see where, when, and how these ...

Scientists capture secret dance of electrons that causes them to change form

08-Jun-2010 - Scientists have captured the first images of electrons that appear to take on extraordinary mass under certain extreme conditions, thus solving a 25-year mystery about how electrons behave in metals. The discovery could help with the design of new materials for high-temperature ...

Scientists glimpse nanobubbles on super non-stick surfaces

Could lead to design of water-shedding materials for applications in energy, medicine and more

03-Mar-2010 - Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have obtained the first glimpse of miniscule air bubbles that keep water from wetting a super non-stick surface. Detailed information about the size and shape of these bubbles — and the non-stick material the scientists ...

Scientists patent corrosion-resistant nano-coating for metals

Thinner, less toxic than existing coatings; efficient and economical to produce

30-Mar-2009 - Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a method for coating metal surfaces with an ultrathin film containing nanoparticles which renders the metal resistant to corrosion and eliminates the use of toxic chromium for this purpose. The scientists ...

Ultracold gas mimics ultrahot plasma

Duke and Brookhaven examine free-flowing 'exploding cigars'

17-Feb-2009 - Several years after Duke University researchers announced spectacular behavior of a low density ultracold gas cloud, researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory have observed strikingly similar properties in a very hot and dense plasma "fluid" created to simulate conditions when the universe ...

New catalyst paves the path for ethanol-powered fuel cells

28-Jan-2009 - A team of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Delaware and Yeshiva University, has developed a new catalyst that could make ethanol-powered fuel cells feasible. The highly efficient catalyst ...