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ORNL facility receives American Nuclear Society's historic landmark designation

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Grant and Award Announcement

The American Nuclear Society has designated the Radiochemical Engineering Development Center at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory an ANS Nuclear Historic Landmark, recognizing more than 50 years of isotope production and nuclear fuel cycle research.

Made in the USA

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

'Made in the USA.' That can now be said of the radioactive isotope molybdenum-99 (Mo-99), last made in the United States in the late 1980s. Its short-lived decay product, technetium-99m (Tc-99m), is the most widely used radioisotope in medical diagnostic imaging. Tc-99m is best known for imaging blood flow in a cardiac nuclear stress test.

Taking the stress out of residual stress mapping

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Researchers from the University of Virginia are using neutrons to explore fundamental work in residual stress mapping that promises more precise science down the road for Oak Ridge National Laboratory and similar facilities around the world. The UVA team's research will provide insight into the accuracy of residual stress mapping measurements in such materials when the neutron beam must travel large distances through the sample.

Whistler waves appear to scatter runaway electrons in fusion plasmas

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

When whistler waves are present in a fusion plasma, runaway electrons pay attention. A research team led by the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory is the first to directly observe the elusive waves inside a highly energized magnetic field as electrons zoom around the plasma. Using sophisticated technologies, the team made direct measurements of whistler waves produced when a laboratory plasma becomes unstable and generates runaway electrons.

PSI researchers seek existence of exotic quantum spin ice

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Researchers from the Paul Sherrer Institute are studying a fascinating sample using neutrons at ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source. Their goal is to create an observable case of quantum spin ice, a bizarre magnetic state found in a special class of materials that could lead to advances in quantum computing.

Novel reaction could spark alternate approach to ammonia production

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The search for a more energy efficient and environmentally friendly method of ammonia production for fertilizer has led to the discovery of a new type of catalytic reaction.

Journal: Science Advances

Story tips from the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, May 2018

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

ORNL studies how some trees respond and recover after heat waves; sensors collect data to uniquely identify vehicles; catalysis data calculations assist in overcoming limiting factor to break down olefins; ORNL tested NASA space probe instruments' ability to withstand sun's extreme heat; using neutrons, ORNL observed enzyme behavior to determine certain antibiotics' ineffectiveness.

Journal: Environmental Research Letters
Funder: Max Planck Institute, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, ORNL's Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, NASA, US Department of Energy's Office of Science

Unusual magnetic structure may support next-generation technology

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Researchers from Colorado State University are using neutrons to study a material with an unusual magnetic structure. This research could both enhance their team's fundamental understanding of frustrated magnetism and lead to improvements in digital information storage.

Machine speak: Left to their own devices, computers can figure it out

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Using novel machine learning techniques, a research team from Oak Ridge National Laboratory is teaching electronic devices how to speak for themselves.

Neutrons provide insights into increased performance for hybrid perovskite solar cells

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has revealed, in real time, the fundamental mechanisms behind the conversion of sunlight into energy in hybrid perovskite materials. A better understanding of this behavior will enable manufacturers to design solar cells with significantly increased efficiency.

Journal: Advanced Materials
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, Basic Energy Sciences, DOE/US Department of Energy

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