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MAIN NAVIGATION
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ESS Family Support
NEWS
ESS HOSTS KICK-OFF MEETING OF ACCELERATING TEACHING PROJECT
Oct 20, 2022
NEWS
ESS AND J-PARC CELEBRATE THE RENEWAL OF THEIR COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Oct 10, 2022
EVENT
MORE THAN 300 NEUTRON RESEARCHERS ATTEND THE JOINT ESS/ILL USER MEETING IN LUND
Oct 6, 2022
NEWS
VISIT ORGANISED BY THE CZECH PRESIDENCY
NEWS
US AMBASSADOR VISITS ESS
SUPPORT
ROLLING ACCESS NOW AVAILABLE FOR DEUTERATION & CRYSTALLISATION SUPPORT FROM THE
DEMAX PLATFORM
RESEARCH
HIGHLIGHTS OF PUBLISHED PAPERS
Base slab casting for ESTIA and SKADI caves.
Construction update
31 OCTOBER 2022
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ESS PROCUREMENTS
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Media Bank
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How It Works
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LUND, SWEDEN
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CLOUDS
Nov 11
Great news! The #ESS Target Wheel is spinning in the on-site test stand! 🙌 The
💙 of ESS is a fine piece of engineering delivered from 🇪🇸 In-Kind partner
@BilbaoEss. It contains almost 7,000 tungsten bricks, and weights about 5
tonnes. https://t.co/qUaSOWQqPV
Nov 10
World Science Day for Peace and Development highlights the important role of
science in society. At ESS, neutrons will be used for research, to develop new
materials and processes to meet societal needs and to address global challenges.
#WorldScienceDay #neutrons #futurescience https://t.co/Mb5x05d4rw
Nov 9
RT @Panosc_eu: On 29-30/11 we're having our closing event in Grenoble (&
online)! Register now and join us to learn on the work done to make #FAIRdata a
reality at PaN facilities, and discuss future challenges to further sustain &
increase the offer of PaN data services https://t.co/sGibYha7mc
https://t.co/Tk1Dc3Hoks
Nov 7
RT @Panosc_eu: Planning to attend the #EOSCsymposium? Don't miss the
(livestreamed) session on 16/11 (11:00am), to have an overview of what PaNOSC &
other science clusters provide to the EOSC, how they work together, and build
the bridges between disciplinary communities https://t.co/7KWXrQbE6q
https://t.co/KfAWSETB3J
Nov 4
Great news for #materialscience👍Congratulations @MAXIVLaboratory 🙌
https://t.co/hya9FUcDpY
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ESS on Twitter
NEWS
ESS HOSTS KICK-OFF MEETING OF ACCELERATING TEACHING PROJECT
Oct 20, 2022Read more
ESS AND J-PARC CELEBRATE THE RENEWAL OF THEIR COOPERATION AGREEMENT
Oct 10, 2022Read more
MORE THAN 300 NEUTRON RESEARCHERS ATTEND THE JOINT ESS/ILL USER MEETING IN LUND
Oct 06, 2022Read more
VISIT ORGANISED BY THE CZECH PRESIDENCY
Sep 29, 2022Read more
See all articles
INTEGRATED CONTROL SYSTEM
The Integrated Control System (ICS) for the European Spallation Source is a
complex network of hardware, software and configuration databases that
integrates the operations of all facility infrastructures. It is based on the
EPICS framework.
SCIENCE SUPPORT SYSTEMS
The Scientific Activities Division will provide ESS Science Support Systems that
include sample environment equipment, scientific laboratories and a future user
office.
INSTRUMENT TECHNOLOGIES
The Instrument Technologies Division provides the technological tools required
for the design, construction and operation of the neutron instruments at ESS.
NEUTRONS IN THE NEWS
* PRECISION EXPERIMENT FIRST TO ISOLATE, MEASURE WEAK FORCE BETWEEN PROTONS,
NEUTRONS
01-01-2019
Science & Technology Research News
* COLD NEUTRONS USED IN HOT PURSUIT OF BETTER THERMOELECTRICS
07-11-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* SEEING A SALT SOLUTION’S STRUCTURE SUPPORTS ONE HYPOTHESIS ABOUT HOW MINERALS
FORM
23-10-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* INSIGHTS INTO THE BEHAVIOUR OF STRUCTURAL MATERIALS IN A MOLTEN SALT
ENVIRONMENT
23-10-2018
Phys.org
* NEUTRONS SCAN MAGNETIC FIELDS INSIDE SAMPLES
05-10-2018
Phys.org
* NEWLY DISCOVERED MAGNETIC STATE COULD LEAD TO GREEN IT SOLUTIONS
24-09-2018
Phys.org
* NEUTRONS – A BREATH OF FRESH AIR FOR THE OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE INDUSTRY
24-09-2018
ISIS Neutron & Muon Source
* NEUTRONS PRODUCE FIRST DIRECT 3D MAPS OF WATER DURING CELL MEMBRANE FUSION
20-09-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* WORLD SPEED RECORD FOR POLYMER SIMULATIONS SHATTERED BY OVER A HUNDRED-FOLD
17-09-2018
Phys.org
* NEUTRONS AND MUONS: HISTORY, MYSTERY AND SCIENCE MEET
17-09-2018
ISIS Neutron & Muon Source
* ALL ABOARD THE NEUTRON TRAIN: MAPPING RESIDUAL STRESSES FOR MORE ROBUST RAILS
27-08-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* TWO STEPS AHEAD: NEUTRONS HELP EXPLORE FUTURE HIV TREATMENTS
23-08-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* COULD SKYRMIONS SOLVE THE BARYOGENESIS PROBLEM?
23-08-2018
Physics World
* INSTITUT LAUE-LANGEVIN (ILL) AND ESRF COLLABORATE ON SPACE TECHNOLOGIES
13-08-2018
SciTech Europa
* IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF ENGINE FUEL DELIVERY – ONE NEUTRON AT A TIME
13-08-2018
ISIS Neutron & Muon Source
* STFC’S ISIS NEUTRON AND MUON SOURCE CELEBRATES TEN YEARS SINCE THE FIRST
NEUTRONS WERE DETECTED IN ITS SECOND TARGET STATION (TS2)
13-08-2018
Europawire.eu
* FIRST STUDY OF GALECTIN PROTEINS WITH NEUTRONS, GUIDING FUTURE DRUG
DEVELOPMENT
10-08-2018
Institut Laue-Langevin
* SNS COMPLETES FULL NEUTRON PRODUCTION CYCLE AT RECORD POWER LEVEL
09-08-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* THE INVESTIGATION OF INDIAN AND CENTRAL ASIAN SWORDS AND THROUGH NEUTRON
METHODS
06-08-2018
Journal of Archaeological Science
* SURFACE AND BULK PROPERTIES OF SURFACTANTS USED IN FIRE-FIGHTING
06-08-2018
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
* GOLD ORE’S CHEMICAL COUSIN HELPS REVEAL FAMILY SECRETS
24-07-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* POSSIBLE BREAKTHROUGH IN UNDERSTANDING HOW ANTIBIOTICS TREAT BACTERIA
24-07-2018
Phys.org
* DARK ENERGY? NO SIGN OF SYMMETRONS
24-07-2018
Science Daily
* NEUTRONS ANALYZE ADVANCED HIGH-STRENGTH STEELS TO IMPROVE VEHICLE SAFETY AND
EFFICIENCY
16-07-2018
Oak Ridge National Lab
* TWO INDEPENDENT MAGNETIC SKYRMION PHASES DISCOVERED IN A SINGLE MATERIAL
12-07-2018
SciTech Europa
* NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR AIR CATHODE BATTERIES; IN-SITU NEUTRON DIFFRACTION
MEASUREMENTS
12-07-2018
Frontiers in Energy Research
* BIG SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY JOIN FORCES TO INNOVATE NEW SPACE TECHNOLOGIES
09-07-2018
SciTech Europa
* NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE MATURATION OF MIRNAS
03-07-2018
Technical University of Munich
* LITHIUM-ION CONDUCTING OXIDE SINGLE CRYSTAL AS SOLID ELECTROLYTE FOR ADVANCED
LITHIUM BATTERY APPLICATION
02-07-2018
Scientific Reports
* THE SWORD AND THE NEUTRON - SPECIFIC USE OF BRONZE AGE SWORDS CONFIRMED BY
NEUTRON TECHNOLOGY
02-07-2018
ISIS Neutron & Muon Source
* NEUTRONS—MAKING SUSTAINABLE BIOFUELS
02-07-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* MATERIALS RESEARCH FOR ENERGY-EFFICIENT MAGNETIC COOLING
27-06-2018
Forschungszentrum Jülich
* NEUTRON TOMOGRAPHY: INSIGHTS INTO THE INTERIOR OF TEETH, ROOT BALLS,
BATTERIES, AND FUEL CELLS
05-06-2018
Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin
* NEUTRONS USED TO STUDY SUSTAINABLE SUGAR-BASED PLASTIC
29-05-2018
ISIS Neutron & Muon Source
* ENZYME ASSOCIATED WITH STOMACH CANCER AND OSTEOPOROSIS SEEN IN DETAIL FOR THE
FIRST TIME WITH NEUTRON CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
25-05-2018
Institut Laue-Langevin
* ABSENCE OF DYNAMIC STRAIN AGING IN AN ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED NICKEL-BASE
SUPERALLOY
25-05-2018
Nature Communications
* SUPERSONIC WAVES MAY HELP ELECTRONICS BEAT THE HEAT
17-05-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* LIQUID MYSTERIES
17-05-2018
Physics World
* USING A 'MAGNETO-GRAVITATIONAL TRAP,' IU PHYSICISTS MEASURE NEUTRONS WITH
UNPRECEDENTED PRECISION
15-05-2018
Indiana University
* THE APPARENT INNER CALM OF QUANTUM MATERIALS
07-05-2018
Université Grenoble Alpes
* NEUTRONS PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO INCREASED PERFORMANCE FOR HYBRID PEROVSKITE
SOLAR CELLS
23-04-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* SPINACH USED IN NEUTRON STUDIES COULD UNEARTH SECRET TO STRONGER PLANT GROWTH
18-04-2018
Phys.org
* UK LAB HELPS REVEAL SECRETS OF 3000 YEAR OLD EGYPTIAN VASES
11-04-2018
STFC
* UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF ICE
09-04-2018
Phys.org
* NEUTRONS HELP DEMYSTIFY MULTIFERROIC MATERIALS
19-03-2018
Phys.org
* NEUTRINO EXPERIMENTS LOOK TO REVEAL BIG ANSWERS ABOUT HOW THESE FUNDAMENTAL
PARTICLES INTERACT WITH MATTER
22-02-2018
Phys.org
* CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS: MAGNETIC FIELD DRIVES SPINS TO A LIQUID
20-02-2018
Nature
* NEUTRONS REVEAL THE WILD WEYL WORLD OF SEMIMETALS
19-02-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* NEUTRONS TURN DETECTIVE TO HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW ELECTRONS BEHAVE IN METALS
15-02-2018
STFC
* THE SEARCH FOR DARK MATTER: AXIONS HAVE EVER FEWER PLACES TO HIDE
14-02-2018
IFJ PAN / BrightSurf.com
* NEUTRON LIFETIME PUZZLE DEEPENS, BUT NO DARK MATTER SEEN
13-02-2018
Quanta Magazine
* NEUTRON STUDY OF GLAUCOMA DRUGS OFFERS CLUES ABOUT ENZYME TARGETS FOR
AGGRESSIVE CANCERS
12-02-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS: MATERIALS RESEARCH FOSTERS ANALYTICAL SKILLS THAT REACH
WELL BEYOND THE LABORATORY
12-02-2018
Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering
* THE EFFECTS OF PRESSURE ON THE ENERGY LANDSCAPE OF PROTEINS
01-02-2018
Nature.com
* STUDYING PRECIOUS PEARLS USING NOVEL NEUTRON IMAGING TECHNIQUE
30-01-2018
Science & Technology Facilities Council (UK)
* MISSING NEUTRONS MAY LEAD A SECRET LIFE AS DARK MATTER
29-01-2018
Scientific American
* HYDRATION STRUCTURE OF REVERSE OSMOSIS MEMBRANES STUDIED VIA NEUTRON
SCATTERING AND ATOMISTIC MOLECULAR SIMULATION
29-01-2018
Nature.com
* IFE AND THE JEEP II-RESEARCH-REACTOR IS AN IMPORTANT ALLY FOR THE ESS
25-01-2018
IFE Norway
* USING HIGH PRESSURE TO STUDY MATERIAL’S PROPERTIES AND INNOVATE
MULTI-FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
25-01-2018
University of California - Riverside
* TARGETED INFECTION CONTROL
22-01-2018
Physics World
* THERMOCHROMIC HALIDE PEROVSKITE SOLAR CELLS
22-01-2018
Nature: Materials
* THE HYDROGEN ANOMALY PROBLEM IN NEUTRON COMPTON SCATTERING
17-01-2018
Physica Scripta
* NEUTRONS REVEAL HIDDEN SECRETS OF THE HEPATITIS C VIRUS
16-01-2018
Institut Laue-Langevin
* BREAKING BAD METALS WITH NEUTRONS
11-01-2018
Argonne National Laboratory
* COMMON ‘OXYGEN SPONGE’ CATALYST SOAKS UP HYDROGEN TOO
11-01-2018
World of Chemicals
* NEUTRONS INSPECT SALT-INCLUSION MATERIALS TO IMPROVE LONG-TERM WASTE STORAGE
10-01-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* THE ATOMIC DYNAMICS OF RARE EVERLASTING ELECTRIC FIELDS
10-01-2018
Phys.org
* NEUTRONS—EXOTIC PARTICLES FOR QUANTUM COMPUTING
03-01-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* FOSSIL ENERGY—NEUTRONS RUN DEEP
03-01-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* ILL D20’S NEUTRON BEAM YIELDS IMPORTANT CLUES TO THE UNCONVENTIONAL ORIGINS
OF SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
13-12-2017
Institut Laue-Langevin
* NEUTRINOS SUGGEST SOLUTION TO MYSTERY OF UNIVERSE’S EXISTENCE
12-12-2017
Quanta Magazine
* MAGNETOSTRICTION-POLARIZATION COUPLING IN MULTIFERROIC MN2MNWO6
11-12-2017
Nature Communications
* SOLAR ENERGY: DEFECTS IN KESTERITE SEMICONDUCTORS STUDIED USING NEUTRONS
07-12-2017
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin
* THE AI COMPANY THAT HELPS BOEING COOK NEW METALS FOR JETS
06-12-2017
Wired
* NEUTRONS REVEAL FAST METHANE TRANSLATIONAL DIFFUSION AT THE INTERFACE OF TWO
CLATHRATE STRUCTURES
30-11-2017
Phys.org
* NEUTRON BEAMS PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO BIO-MOLECULAR DIFFUSION
30-11-2017
Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering
* ELASTIC INCOHERENT NEUTRON SCATTERING AT ILL CHALLENGE THE LINDEMANN
CRITERION IN PROTEINS
29-11-2017
Phys.org
* THE RIGHT MIX: WATER AND NEUTRONS WITH EUGENE MAMONTOV
28-11-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* GETTING TO GRIPS WITH CORROSION
27-11-2017
ISIS Neutron & Muon Source
* SYNOPSIS: PEERING INTO A MOLECULAR MAGNET
22-11-2017
Physics (APS)
* ULTRA-COLD NEUTRONS AID THE SEARCH FOR DARK MATTER
21-11-2017
Pan European Networks
* JAPAN SCALES UP PARTICLE PHYSICS RESEARCH
21-11-2017
Asian Scientist
* NEW RESEARCH MAY PROVIDE BETTER ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS IN THE FUTURE
20-11-2017
Linnæus University
* HUNT FOR DARK MATTER IS NARROWED BY NEW UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX RESEARCH
15-11-2017
University of Sussex
* BROCK PHYSICIST ON THE HUNT FOR NEUTRON BEAM SOURCE
15-11-2017
Brock University
* CYANOBACTERIAL STUDIES EXAMINE CELLULAR STRUCTURE DURING NITROGEN STARVATION
15-11-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* CHINA FIRES UP NEXT-GENERATION NEUTRON-SCIENCE FACILITY
14-11-2017
Nature
* NEUTRONS PROBE OXYGEN-GENERATING ENZYME FOR A GREENER APPROACH TO CLEAN WATER
13-11-2017
Phys.org
* THIS SUPER-SENSITIVE, FLEXIBLE MATERIAL GENERATES ELECTRIC ENERGY ON BEING
STRETCHED OR COMPRESSED
12-11-2017
International Business Times
* NEUTRONS AID THE DEVELOPMENT OF CANCER-KILLING NANOPARTICLES
10-11-2017
Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering
* NEUTRON EXPERIMENTS ADD CONFIDENCE TO NUCLEAR REACTOR SAFETY
10-11-2017
Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering
* MACHINE LEARNING AND DEEP LEARNING PROGRAMS PROVIDE A HELPING HAND TO
SCIENTISTS ANALYZING IMAGES
09-11-2017
Phys.org
* MEASUREMENTS OF NEUTRONIC CHARACTERISTICS OF RECTANGULAR AND CYLINDRICAL
COUPLED HYDROGEN MODERATORS
09-11-2017
Journal of Nuclear Science & Technology
* PERFECTLY FRUSTRATED METAL PROVIDES POSSIBLE PATH TO SUPERCONDUCTIVITY, OTHER
NEW QUANTUM STATES
08-11-2017
Ames Laboratory
* NEUTRON SPECTROSCOPY REVEALS COMMON ‘OXYGEN SPONGE’ CATALYST SOAKS UP
HYDROGEN TOO
07-11-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* RESISTING THE RESISTANCE: NEUTRONS SEARCH FOR CLUES TO COMBAT BACTERIAL
THREATS
06-11-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* MYSTERIOUS VOID DISCOVERED IN EGYPT'S GREAT PYRAMID
02-11-2017
National Geographic
* NOT EASY TO (UN)TWIST! MNSI UNDER A MAGNETIC FIELD
30-10-2017
Institut Laue-Langevin
* IT'S UP TO THE WORLD OF SCIENCE TO PROVIDE EVERYONE WITH CLEAN, AFFORDABLE
WATER
26-10-2017
World Economic Forum
* NEUTRONS REVEAL SUPPRESSION OF MAGNETIC ORDER IN PURSUIT OF A QUANTUM SPIN
LIQUID
19-10-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* A NOVEL PICTURE OF THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
20-10-2017
Pan European Networks
* SCIENTISTS QUESTION ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT PLANET FORMATION
19-10-2017
Phys.org
* NEUTRONS OBSERVE VITAMIN B6-DEPENDENT ENZYME ACTIVITY USEFUL FOR DRUG
DEVELOPMENT
16-10-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* SCIENTISTS DETECT GRAVITATIONAL WAVES FROM A NEW KIND OF NOVA, SPARKING A NEW
ERA IN ASTRONOMY
16-10-2017
The Washington Post
* PHYSICS WORLD FOCUS ON NEUTRON SCIENCE
13-10-2017
Institute of Physics: Physics World
* NEW RESEARCH COULD EXPLAIN HOW RIVER-LIKE CHANNELS FORMED ON MARS
13-10-2017
STFC / ISIS / Univ. of Leeds
* MIMETIC MARTIAN WATER IS UNDER PRESSURE
13-10-2017
Phys.org
* SUPERCONDUCTIVITY FOUND IN THIN FILMS OF TIO2
02-10-2017
Phys.org
* THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF INELASTIC NEUTRON SCATTERING
25-09-2017
ISIS Neutron Source
* NEUTRINOS ON NUCLEI
22-09-2017
CERN Courier
* OBITUARY: BJØRN JACOBSEN 1961-2017
22-09-2017
CERN Courier
* CANADA’S NEUTRON SCIENTISTS LAMENT CLOSURE OF WORLD’S OLDEST NUCLEAR REACTOR
21-09-2017
sciencemag.org
* NEUTRONS PROVIDE A NOVEL PICTURE OF THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY IN COMPLEX MATERIALS
11-09-2017
Science X Phys.org
* FIRST NEUTRON BEAM PRODUCED: A GREAT MILESTONE FOR CHINA SPALLATION NEUTRON
SOURCE
06-09-2017
Science X Phys.org
* ORNL RESEARCHERS TURN TO ‘DEEP LEARNING’ TO SOLVE SCIENCE’S BIGGEST DATA
PROBLEM
03-09-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* WORLD’S SMALLEST NEUTRINO DETECTOR FINDS BIG PHYSICS FINGERPRINT
03-08-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
* NEUTRONS HELP TO REMOVE BARRIERS STANDING IN THE WAY OF SAFER, BETTER
BATTERIES FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES
02-08-2017
Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering
* IRON SECRETS BEHIND SUPERCONDUCTORS UNLOCKED
07-07-2017
Niels Bohr Institute
* CAPTURING 3D WATER FLOW IN ROOTED SOIL BY ULTRA-FAST NEUTRON TOMOGRAPHY
05-06-2017
Nature Scientific Reports
* FOCUS: NEUTRONS VERSUS DISEASE
10-05-2017
Pan European Networks
* RESEARCHERS WILL FIND THE STRUCTURE OF THE SMALLEST BUILDING BLOCKS IN
NANO-CHEMISTRY
07-02-2017
University of Copenhagen
NEUTRONS IN THE NEWS
01-01-2019
Science & Technology Research News
PRECISION EXPERIMENT FIRST TO ISOLATE, MEASURE WEAK FORCE BETWEEN PROTONS,
NEUTRONS
A team of scientists has for the first time measured the elusive weak
interaction between protons and neutrons in the nucleus of an atom. They had
chosen the simplest nucleus consisting of one neutron and one proton for the
study.
Through a unique neutron experiment at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge
National Laboratory, experimental physicists resolved the weak force between the
particles at the atom’s core, predicted in the Standard Model that describes the
elementary particles and their interactions.
Their result is sensitive to subtle aspects of the strong force between nuclear
particles, which is still poorly understood.
RELATED CONTENT
* Particle Physics at ESS
Full article
07-11-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
COLD NEUTRONS USED IN HOT PURSUIT OF BETTER THERMOELECTRICS
Thermoelectric devices are highly versatile, with the ability to convert heat
into electricity, and electricity into heat. They are small, lightweight, and
extremely durable because they have no moving parts, which is why they have been
used to power NASA spacecraft on long-term missions, including the Voyager space
probes launched in 1977.
Because applying an electrical current to a thermoelectric causes charged
particles to diffuse from the material’s hot side to their cold side, they are
widely used in cooling applications to pull heat out of systems, such as in heat
pumps, fiber-optic devices, and car seats—and to control the temperature of
battery packs. The process is also reversible and can effectively reclaim “waste
heat” to...
Full article
23-10-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
SEEING A SALT SOLUTION’S STRUCTURE SUPPORTS ONE HYPOTHESIS ABOUT HOW MINERALS
FORM
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory used
neutrons, isotopes and simulations to “see” the atomic structure of a saturated
solution and found evidence supporting one of two competing hypotheses about how
ions come together to form minerals.
The study, reported in The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, may improve
understanding of ion–water interactions in catalysis, environmental remediation
and industrial engineering.
“The precise measurement we made has implications for all kinds of mineral
formation reactions and waste issues in subsurface geologic environments, such
as those containing nuclear wastes or hydraulic fracturing fluids,” said ORNL
geochemist Hsiu-Wen Wang. “Bringing together...
Full article
23-10-2018
Phys.org
INSIGHTS INTO THE BEHAVIOUR OF STRUCTURAL MATERIALS IN A MOLTEN SALT ENVIRONMENT
An international team of researchers led by ANSTO has found that cold-rolling
increases the susceptibility of materials to molten salt corrosion by an
increase in grain boundary length, and other microstructural defects, which
typically contribute to material strengthening.
Dr. Ondrej Muránsky, Lead, High Temperature and Molten Salt Corrosion
Performance of Advanced Materials, Nuclear Fuel Cycle at ANSTO and Ms Mia Maric
(both pictured above) said that this research has relevance for future Molten
Salt Reactor (MSR), Concentrated Solar Thermal (CST) as well as Thermal Energy
Storage (TES) systems currently under development.
The study, which was published in Corrosion Science, was done on 316L Stainless
Steel which is...
Full article
05-10-2018
Phys.org
NEUTRONS SCAN MAGNETIC FIELDS INSIDE SAMPLES
With a newly developed neutron tomography technique, an HZB team has mapped for
the first time magnetic field lines inside materials at the BER II research
reactor. Tensorial neutron tomography promises new insights into
superconductors, battery electrodes and other energy-related materials.
Measuring magnetic fields inside samples has only been possible indirectly up to
now. Magnetic orientations can be scanned with light, X-rays or electrons—but
only on the surfaces of materials. Neutrons, on the other hand, penetrate deeply
into the sample, and, thanks to their own magnetic orientation, can provide
precise information about the magnetic fields inside. So far, however, it has
only been possible to approximate the variously aligned...
RELATED CONTENT
* Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
* MAGiC Single Crystal Diffractometer
Full article
24-09-2018
Phys.org
NEWLY DISCOVERED MAGNETIC STATE COULD LEAD TO GREEN IT SOLUTIONS
Magnetic skyrmions are magnetic swirls that may lead to new solutions combining
low-energy consumption with high-speed computational power and high-density data
storage, revolutionizing information technology. A team from Delft University of
Technology, in collaboration with the University of Groningen and Hiroshima
University, has discovered a new, unexpected magnetic state, which is related to
these skyrmions. The findings open up new ways to create and manipulate complex
magnetic structures in view of future IT applications.
A magnetic skyrmion is a quasiparticle, a magnetic swirl, which, once created,
is highly stable and cannot collapse. Moreover, skyrmions are tiny and can
travel through materials nearly unimpeded, much like...
RELATED CONTENT
* Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
* MAGiC Single Crystal Diffractometer
Full article
24-09-2018
ISIS Neutron & Muon Source
NEUTRONS – A BREATH OF FRESH AIR FOR THE OFFSHORE WIND TURBINE INDUSTRY
ENGIN-X has helped tackle one of the most pressing concerns facing the offshore
wind turbine industry – the assessment of the structural integrity of turbine
foundations.
If you're lucky enough to have visited the British coast this summer you may
have noticed a prominent feature on the horizon – an offshore wind farm. Back in
2010 offshore wind farms were something of a rarity, supplying just 3% of
Britain's electricity needs. But this figure is on the rise, and by 2030 we
anticipate up to a third of the UK's electricity will be provided by offshore
wind power.
Our growing need for offshore wind power presents many challenges to the energy
industry, not least because of their colossal size. “Without resilient
foundations to...
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* Engineering Materials at ESS
* BEER Engineering Diffractometer
Full article
20-09-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
NEUTRONS PRODUCE FIRST DIRECT 3D MAPS OF WATER DURING CELL MEMBRANE FUSION
New 3D maps of water distribution during cellular membrane fusion are
accelerating scientific understanding of cell development, which could lead to
new treatments for diseases associated with cell fusion. Using neutron
diffraction at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
researchers have made the first direct observations of water in lipid bilayers
used to model cell membrane fusion.
The research, published in Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, could provide
new insights into diseases in which normal cell fusion is disrupted, such as
Albers-Schönberg disease (osteopetrosis), help facilitate the development of
fusion-based cell therapies for degenerative diseases, and lead to treatments
that prevent cell-to...
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* Life Science & Soft Condensed Matter
* NMX Macromolecular Diffractometer
Full article
17-09-2018
Phys.org
WORLD SPEED RECORD FOR POLYMER SIMULATIONS SHATTERED BY OVER A HUNDRED-FOLD
From a humble plastic bag to ultra-light airplane wings, polymers are
everywhere. These molecules are long chains of atoms that play many roles for
good and bad, from organic photovoltaics to indestructible plastic pollution.
Polymers are useful in liquid form, as well: The difference between tomato puree
and ketchup is merely 0.5 percent of xanthan gum, which is a polymer made from
sugar. Ketchup is thick but not sticky, thanks to xanthan chains that are so
long that they interpenetrate and form an entangled web that resists flow. The
same principle also underpins high-tech applications like ink jet printing.
It is possible to decrease the amount of thickening additives without
compromising their effect on flow, which would save...
Full article
17-09-2018
ISIS Neutron & Muon Source
NEUTRONS AND MUONS: HISTORY, MYSTERY AND SCIENCE MEET
It seems strange to consider that neutrons and muons, discovered in the 1930s,
should be used to investigate artefacts dating as far back as 10,000 BCE,
however such work has been done here at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source.
However both neutrons and muons are now being used as powerful tools to probe
the past, due to their non-destructive and penetrating nature, allowing
researchers to look deep inside historical artefacts to uncover the mysteries
that lie within - without causing damage to the object.
Instruments have been used, each with unique capabilities. ENGIN-X measures the
stresses and strains within samples at the atomic level, IMAT utilises neutron
imaging, INES and GEM use neutron diffraction techniques, and...
Full article
27-08-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ALL ABOARD THE NEUTRON TRAIN: MAPPING RESIDUAL STRESSES FOR MORE ROBUST RAILS
Railway rails are designed to endure years of heavy loads and different
operating conditions. However, over time, contact forces between the rails and
the wheels of trains can cause significant wear and tear on the rails, which
then must be replaced to ensure safety and reliability.
Researchers from Transportation Technology Center Inc. (TTCI) are analyzing new
and used rail segments with neutrons at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak
Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). TTCI is the Association of American Railroads’
research subsidiary in North America, serving the entire North American railroad
industry. After studying the rails at its 2.7 mile-long railroad heavy freight
testing loop outside Pueblo, Colorado, TTCI is using...
Full article
23-08-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
TWO STEPS AHEAD: NEUTRONS HELP EXPLORE FUTURE HIV TREATMENTS
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a quick learner. As fast as researchers
get effective anti-viral drugs into clinical trials, the virus evolves,
deploying potent resistance mutations that render the medicine useless and put
researchers back at square one.
Kushol Gupta hopes to beat HIV’s defenses. A research assistant professor from
the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, Gupta recently
concluded an experiment at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (ORNL) he hopes will improve allosteric inhibitors of integrase
(ALLINIs), a new class of HIV-fighting drug that inhibits the virus’s ability to
reproduce.
“If we can stay two steps ahead of the virus by anticipating the...
Full article
23-08-2018
Physics World
COULD SKYRMIONS SOLVE THE BARYOGENESIS PROBLEM?
Magnetic nanoparticles known as skyrmions and their antiparticle equivalents can
behave very differently, according to new calculations by researchers in Sweden,
Germany and France. This unexpected new finding could have important
consequences for any potential technologies involving these particles, such as
new generation data storage and information processing devices.
Skyrmions are swirling vortex-like magnetic spin structures that extend across a
few nanometres in a material and can be likened to 2D knots in which the
magnetic moments rotate about 360° within a plane. They are now known to occur
in many materials and were first observed in experiments about 10 years ago.
They show much promise as the building blocks for next...
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* Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
* CSPEC Cold Chopper Spectrometer
* MAGiC Single Crystal Diffractometer
Full article
13-08-2018
SciTech Europa
INSTITUT LAUE-LANGEVIN (ILL) AND ESRF COLLABORATE ON SPACE TECHNOLOGIES
Professor Helmut Schober, director of the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) discusses
a new partnership between the ILL and the ESRF and leading European space
companies to tackle industry challenges.
The Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
(ESRF) have recently announced that they are teaming up with leading European
space companies OHB System AG and MT Aerospace AG to tackle industry challenges.
They join forces to advance the characterisation of aerospace materials and make
fabrication processes more efficient by probing matter with X-rays and neutrons.
Space exploration has led to many societal benefits that have vastly improved
quality of life on Earth. The first satellites contributed...
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* Future science at ESS
* ODIN Multipurpose Imaging
* BEER Engineering Diffractometer
Full article
13-08-2018
ISIS Neutron & Muon Source
IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF ENGINE FUEL DELIVERY – ONE NEUTRON AT A TIME
Scientists from City, University of London and Lubrizol Limited have been using
neutron technology at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source to test the role that
modern additives have in increasing the efficiency of fuel injectors.
Scientists from City, University of London and Lubrizol Limited have been using
neutron technology at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source to test the role that
modern additives play in reducing flow losses – and therefore increasing the
efficiency of fuel injectors, in engines fuelled with diesel or biodiesel.
The Basics of Fuel Injection
Fuel injection, i.e. the process of delivering fuel to an internal combustion
engine was introduced in the mid-1920s. The purpose of the system was to
deliver...
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* LoKI Broadband SANS
* FREIA Liquids Reflectometer
Full article
13-08-2018
Europawire.eu
STFC’S ISIS NEUTRON AND MUON SOURCE CELEBRATES TEN YEARS SINCE THE FIRST
NEUTRONS WERE DETECTED IN ITS SECOND TARGET STATION (TS2)
Today (3 August 2018), STFC’s ISIS Neutron and Muon Source celebrates ten years
since the first neutrons were detected in its Second Target Station (TS2).
That’s ten years of research in everything from cleft palate and antibiotics to
solar energy and new battery technologies.
An online TS2 blog from that exact day 10 years ago had this entry for 3 August
2008:
“After several hours of work this morning scanning the shutter, the beamline
suddenly came into alignment at 13:08 and neutrons were measured. So many
neutrons flooded down the beamline that the gas tube detector went off the
scale. There are a lot of very relieved and jubilant people in the Inter control
room!”
Since then the facility has grown into one that has...
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* Building ESS
* Britain’s STFC Signs On as Lead Partner for Two ESS Instruments
Full article
10-08-2018
Institut Laue-Langevin
FIRST STUDY OF GALECTIN PROTEINS WITH NEUTRONS, GUIDING FUTURE DRUG DEVELOPMENT
Galectins attach to other proteins via the carbohydrates on their surfaces
(sugar-binding proteins). As such they impact on a range of processes in the
cell associated with a number of diseases, including heart disease and breast
cancer – the most common cancer in women worldwide, with 1.7 million new
cases diagnosed in 2012 alone.
Understanding how galectins bind to and distinguish between different sugars can
help guide the design of new molecules that act as inhibitors – blocking this
process, and therefore limiting the development of certain diseases. However,
researchers are only beginning to get the full picture of the binding patterns
involved and the exact details of the interactions between different sugars and
the protein...
RELATED CONTENT
* NMX Pinpoints Hydrogen Atoms with Neutrons...
* New Drug Carrier Aims to Treat...
* Life Science & Soft Condensed Matter at ESS
Full article
09-08-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
SNS COMPLETES FULL NEUTRON PRODUCTION CYCLE AT RECORD POWER LEVEL
The Spallation Neutron Source at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National
Laboratory has reached a new milestone by operating a complete neutron
production run cycle at 1.3 megawatts.
Achieving the record power level with a remarkable 94 percent accelerator beam
availability establishes a new baseline of operation as well as a path to
operate reliably at higher powers. Increased power offers researchers the
ability to conduct faster scientific analyses using neutrons on more types of
materials.
SNS, a DOE Office of Science User Facility, began operations in 2006 and is
currently the world’s most powerful pulsed accelerator-based neutron scattering
facility, used by scientists to reveal fundamental properties and behaviors
of...
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* How Do You Power the World’s Most Powerful Linac?
* The ESS Mandate
Full article
06-08-2018
Journal of Archaeological Science
THE INVESTIGATION OF INDIAN AND CENTRAL ASIAN SWORDS AND THROUGH NEUTRON METHODS
* The morphological and microstructural features of wootz steel were analyzed.
* Analysis was performed by using non-destructive neutron methods: neutron
imaging and neutron diffraction.
* Specific microstructural features in steel were identified as anisotropy in
cementite and its specific spatial distribution.
In this work we present the analysis of the micro-structural features of ancient
Indian blades carried out by neutron tomography and neutron diffraction. The
results provide a clear identification of the different types of steel used to
produce such weapons. Among them, only a small proportion of the large number of
swords produced in India were made of hypereutectoid patterned steel,
namely wootz, also (misleadingly) known as...
RELATED CONTENT
* Archeology & Heritage Conservation at ESS
* Scientific Potential of ESS Instruments Expands as Neutron Imaging...
* ODIN
Full article
06-08-2018
Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
SURFACE AND BULK PROPERTIES OF SURFACTANTS USED IN FIRE-FIGHTING
Hypothesis
Reports on the colloidal and interfacial properties
of fluorocarbon (FC) surfactants used in fire-fighting foam formulations are
rare. This is primarily because these formulations are complex mixtures of
different hydrocarbon (HC) and fluorocarbon (FC) surfactants. By developing a
greater understanding of the individual properties of these commercial FC
surfactants, links can be made between structure and respective surface/ bulk
behaviour. Improved understanding of structure property relationships of FC
surfactants will therefore facilitate the design of more environmentally
responsible surfactant replacements.
Experiments
Surface properties of three partially fluorinated technical grade surfactants
were determined...
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* Chemistry of Materials at ESS
* FREIA Reflectometer
* LoKI Broadband SANS
Full article
24-07-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
GOLD ORE’S CHEMICAL COUSIN HELPS REVEAL FAMILY SECRETS
“The holy grail is to identify and understand the fundamental connection between
magnetism and superconductivity,” said Yu Song, a researcher at UC–Berkeley. “If
we can determine how the magnetic behavior of materials like iron telluride
leads to superconducting properties, we can perhaps identify a common mechanism
for all superconductivity, even at higher temperatures. This would be a huge
advance toward developing more practical and affordable superconducting
technologies that could dramatically increase the electrical efficiency of the
world’s power systems.”
Iron tellurides are gold-free minerals that are chemical cousins to rich
gold-bearing tellurides—high-grade ores long prized by gold miners. Today, the
poorer cousin...
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* Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
* BIFROST Extreme Environment Spectrometer
Full article
24-07-2018
Phys.org
POSSIBLE BREAKTHROUGH IN UNDERSTANDING HOW ANTIBIOTICS TREAT BACTERIA
Scientists from Newcastle University and the UK's ISIS Neutron and Muon research
facility have worked together on a new project that is increasing our
understanding of how antibiotics treat bacteria.
With the number of antibiotic resistant bacteria increasing in recent years, the
ability to develop a way to combat this resistance could be essential for our
future health.
The team used a technique known as neutron reflectometry at STFC's ISIS facility
in Oxfordshire to examine how Polymyxin B, a last resort antibiotic, interacts
with the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. These hardy bacteria are
responsible for life-threatening diseases like pneumonia and meningitis, making
them key targets for clinical research.
...
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* Life Science & Soft Condensed Matter at ESS
* FREIA Liquids Reflectometer
* Resolving the Mechanism of Anti-Fungal Therapeutics
Full article
24-07-2018
Science Daily
DARK ENERGY? NO SIGN OF SYMMETRONS
A high-precision experiment has set its sights on pinpointing the so-far
hypothetical
One thing is certain: there's something out there we don't yet know. For years
now scientists have been looking for "dark matter" or "dark energy"—with our
current inventory of particles and forces in nature we just can't explain major
cosmological phenomena, such as why the universe is expanding at an ever faster
rate.
New theories for "dark energy" have been suggested. One of the candidates is the
so-called "symmetron field," which is said to pervade space much like the Higgs
field. At the Technical University of Vienna researchers have developed an
experiment capable of measuring extremely small forces with the help of
neutrons. The...
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* Ultra-Cold Neutron Source at ESS
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Full article
16-07-2018
Oak Ridge National Lab
NEUTRONS ANALYZE ADVANCED HIGH-STRENGTH STEELS TO IMPROVE VEHICLE SAFETY AND
EFFICIENCY
The demand for lighter, stronger, and more durable materials for use in vehicles
has never been higher. Companies are looking at new and advanced materials such
as lightweight advanced high-strength steels (AHSS) to develop automotive
components that help increase gas efficiency, reduce maintenance costs, and save
lives.
Researchers from the United States Steel Corporation (USS) recently used
neutrons at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source to better
understand the properties of hydroformed AHSS and how it responds to residual
stress introduced during manufacturing.
“Because this is a new material containing retained austenite, we need to have a
better understanding of its performance,” said Lu Huang...
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* BEER: Europe’s Next Flagship Engineering Diffractometer
* Engineering Materials at ESS
Full article
12-07-2018
SciTech Europa
TWO INDEPENDENT MAGNETIC SKYRMION PHASES DISCOVERED IN A SINGLE MATERIAL
For the first time, a team of researchers have discovered two different magnetic
skyrmion phases in a single material, leading to a better understanding of
magnetic structures.
Researchers from Technical Universities of Munich and Dresden and the University
of Cologne, Germany, have discovered the two magnetic skyrmion phases and can
now better study the properties of the structures.
Similar structures to that of a whirlpool can be observed in magnetic materials.
Magnetic whirls are formed when the magnetic moments are aligned in a circular
fashion. These so-called skyrmions are not just interesting for basic research –
because of their stability and their tiny dimensions – but they could be key for
the development of future...
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* Chemistry of Materials, Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
* MAGiC Magnetism Single-Crystal Diffractometer
Full article
12-07-2018
Frontiers in Energy Research
NEW OPPORTUNITIES FOR AIR CATHODE BATTERIES; IN-SITU NEUTRON DIFFRACTION
MEASUREMENTS
Batteries with air electrodes are gaining interest as Energy Storage Systems
(ESSs) for Electrical Vehicles (EVs) because of their high specific energy
density.
The electrochemical performance of these batteries is limited by the metallic
electrode, which suffers structural transformations and corrosion during cycling
that reduces the cycle life of the battery. In this context, relevant
information on the discharge products may be obtained by in-situ neutron
diffraction, a suitable technique to study electrodes that contain light
elements or near neighbor elements in the periodic table. Case studies of MH-air
and Fe-air batteries are highlighted.
Air cathode-based batteries are promising energy storage systems for
Electrical...
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* Chemistry of Materials & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
* DREAM Powder Diffractometer
Full article
09-07-2018
SciTech Europa
BIG SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY JOIN FORCES TO INNOVATE NEW SPACE TECHNOLOGIES
The Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) and European Synchrotron Radiation Facility
(ESRF) team up with leading European space companies OHB System AG and MT
Aerospace AG to tackle industry challenges and innovate new space technologies.
This collaboration in big science comes as the companies work to innovate new
space technologies, working specifically to advance the characterisation of
aerospace materials and make fabrication processes more efficient by probing
matter with x-rays and neutrons.
Space exploration has led to many societal benefits that have improved quality
of life on Earth, for example, the first satellites contributed to knowledge and
capabilities for:
* Telecommunications;
* Global positioning; and
* Advances...
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* ODIN Multi-Purpose Imaging Instrument
* Engineering Materials at ESS
Full article
03-07-2018
Technical University of Munich
NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE MATURATION OF MIRNAS
Elucidating the maturation mechanism of a cancer-causing microRNA
An international research team has used a structural biological approach to
elucidate the maturation of a cancer-causing microRNA in gene regulation. In the
future, the authors hope to develop new therapies based on their findings.
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of molecules consisting of short RNA sequences
that inhibit the formation of certain proteins by destroying the corresponding
RNA blueprint.
Cancer-causing miRNAs, so-called oncomiRs, also function according to this
principle and inhibit the production of proteins that protect the cell against
uncontrolled growth.
"Thus, an increased presence of these molecules in cells leads to the...
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Full article
02-07-2018
Scientific Reports
LITHIUM-ION CONDUCTING OXIDE SINGLE CRYSTAL AS SOLID ELECTROLYTE FOR ADVANCED
LITHIUM BATTERY APPLICATION
We are the first to successfully grow centimeter-sized single crystals of
garnet-type by the floating zone method.
Today, all-solid-state secondary lithium-ion batteries have attracted attention
in research and development all over the world as a next-generation energy
storage device. A key material for the all-solid-state lithium batteries is
inorganic solid electrolyte, including oxide and sulfide materials.
Among the oxide electrolytes, garnet-type oxide exhibits the highest lithium-ion
conductivity and a wide electrochemical potential window. However, they have
major problems for practical realization.
One of the major problems is an internal short-circuit in charging and
discharging. In the polycrystalline...
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* Chemistry of Materials, Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
* Dispersionless Spin Waves Provide Clues to Enigmatic Magnetic Ordering in
Garne…
Full article
02-07-2018
ISIS Neutron & Muon Source
THE SWORD AND THE NEUTRON - SPECIFIC USE OF BRONZE AGE SWORDS CONFIRMED BY
NEUTRON TECHNOLOGY
Scientists have been using the latest science to reveal the specific usage of
Bronze Age swords dating back to 1400 BCE.
For years, archaeologists have struggled to fully differentiate between swords
forged with different offensive styles of attack in mind.
In order to learn more about these precious artefacts, one must take samples,
which can be a very challenging procedure when you are dealing with an
incredibly fragile, 3000 year old specimen that is the only one of its kind in
the world. Traditional, destructive sampling techniques have thus restricted
experiments to a bare minimum and only permitted analysis in special, one-off
cases.
Nowadays, thanks to some phenomenal physics, scientists can provide definite...
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Full article
02-07-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
NEUTRONS—MAKING SUSTAINABLE BIOFUELS
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory are using neutrons to understand why
certain hydrocarbons produced by blue-green algae are important to their
biology, so new strains can be engineered to sustainably produce biofuels.
Neutron scattering makes it possible to non-destructively see inside living
algae at real world temperatures and in real time.
“No one has used neutron scattering to test the hypothesized role hydrocarbons
in modulating membrane structure in algae,” said Cory Knoot of the Washington
University in St. Louis. “Understanding why alkanes are important to
cyanobacterial health could make it easier to engineer new strains of the algae
that can sustainably produce alkanes as biofuels.”
Knoot used...
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Full article
27-06-2018
Forschungszentrum Jülich
MATERIALS RESEARCH FOR ENERGY-EFFICIENT MAGNETIC COOLING
Jülich scientist Nikolaos Biniskos together with his colleagues in a
Franco-German research team has gained new insights into the inverse
magnetocaloric effect with the help of neutron scattering studies. The results
could be useful in the search for suitable magnetocaloric materials for
energy-efficient heating and cooling systems.
Magnetocaloric materials heat up when they enter a magnetic field, and cool down
again when they leave it. This phenomenon can be exploited to produce quiet,
energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly heating and cooling devices, but
the high cost of materials has however severely hampered its wider application
in mass-market products. Scientists have known about this effect for more than
100 years...
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* Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
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Full article
05-06-2018
Helmholtz Zentrum Berlin
NEUTRON TOMOGRAPHY: INSIGHTS INTO THE INTERIOR OF TEETH, ROOT BALLS, BATTERIES,
AND FUEL CELLS
A team of researchers at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and the European
Spallation Source (ESS) has now published a comprehensive overview of
neutron-based imaging processes in the renowned journal Materials Today (impact
factor 21.6). The authors report on the latest developments in neutron
tomography, illustrating the possible applications using examples of this
non-destructive method. Neutron tomography has facilitated breakthroughs in so
diverse areas such as art history, battery research, dentistry, energy
materials, industrial research, magnetism, palaeobiology and plant physiology.
Neutrons can penetrate deep into a sample without destroying it. In addition,
neutrons can also distinguish between light elements such as...
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* Neutron Tomography at ESS
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Full article
29-05-2018
ISIS Neutron & Muon Source
NEUTRONS USED TO STUDY SUSTAINABLE SUGAR-BASED PLASTIC
Researchers have used inelastic neutron scattering to study the properties of a
sugar-based plastic that could start to replace conventional plastic bottles in
the near future.
Our plastic habit has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years as the
movement against plastic waste gathers momentum. But it's not just the amount of
plastic we produce that's a huge problem – it's how we make it. Fossil
resources provide the feedstock materials for plastics and also power the
plastic manufacturing processes. The plastic industry requires a staggering
amount of oil for this purpose, annually using the same quantity as the global
aviation sector.
In order to limit the environmental impact of plastics we must rethink our...
Full article
25-05-2018
Institut Laue-Langevin
ENZYME ASSOCIATED WITH STOMACH CANCER AND OSTEOPOROSIS SEEN IN DETAIL FOR THE
FIRST TIME WITH NEUTRON CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
• The enzyme PKG II is associated with stomach cancer causing 754,000 deaths
worldwide
• The activation process for the enzyme has been looked at in exceptional
detail with neutron crystallography
• Understanding such mechanisms will enable future drug development for
stomach cancer and osteoporosis
The enzyme PKG II (protein kinase G II – a cyclic guanosine monophosphate
dependent kinase) plays an important role in human health, but can increase the
risk of diseases like stomach cancer and osteoporosis if not activated. Stomach
cancer kills 754,000 people globally each year and osteoporosis, which causes
weakened bones, affects over 200 million people worldwide , so researchers are
keen to understand how this enzyme...
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* NMX Macromolecular Diffractometer
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Full article
25-05-2018
Nature Communications
ABSENCE OF DYNAMIC STRAIN AGING IN AN ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED NICKEL-BASE
SUPERALLOY
Dynamic strain aging (DSA), observed macroscopically as serrated plastic flow,
has long been seen in nickel-base superalloys when plastically deformed at
elevated temperatures.
Here we report the absence of DSA in Inconel 625 made by additive manufacturing
(AM) at temperatures and strain rates where DSA is present in its conventionally
processed counterpart. This absence is attributed to the unique AM
microstructure of finely dispersed secondary phases (carbides, N-rich phases,
and Laves phase) and textured grains. Based on experimental observations, we
propose a dislocation-arrest model to elucidate the criterion for DSA to occur
or to be absent as a competition between dislocation pipe diffusion and
carbide–carbon reactions.
...
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Full article
17-05-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
SUPERSONIC WAVES MAY HELP ELECTRONICS BEAT THE HEAT
OAK RIDGE, Tenn.—Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National
Laboratory made the first observations of waves of atomic rearrangements, known
as phasons, propagating supersonically through a vibrating crystal lattice—a
discovery that may dramatically improve heat transport in insulators and enable
new strategies for heat management in future electronics devices.
“The discovery gives you a different way to control the flow of heat,” said lead
author Michael Manley of the paper published in Nature Communications. “It
provides a shortcut through the material—a way to send the energy of pure atomic
motion at a speed that’s higher than you can with phonons [atomic vibrations].
This shortcut may open possibilities in heat...
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17-05-2018
Physics World
LIQUID MYSTERIES
It’s easy to assume there’s nothing new to learn about liquids. John
Proctor explains just how weird liquids can be at high pressures and why this
work could shed light on planetary interiors
When I read scientific papers, I often end up pondering questions that are – in
the grand scheme of things – mere footnotes and details. Quite simply, I lose
sight of the big issues. Fortunately, one benefit of teaching physics to
undergraduates, as I do, is that it lets me take a broader perspective. Take the
way that textbooks deal with the fundamental differences between the states of
matter. While these works contain neat and cohesive descriptions of gases and
solids, many struggle with liquids.
Consider David Tabor’s classic book G...
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15-05-2018
Indiana University
USING A 'MAGNETO-GRAVITATIONAL TRAP,' IU PHYSICISTS MEASURE NEUTRONS WITH
UNPRECEDENTED PRECISION
BLOOMINGTON, Ind.—A study led in part by physicists at the Indiana University
Center for the Exploration of Energy and Matter could provide new insight into
the composition of the universe immediately after the Big Bang—as well as
improve calculations used to predict the life span of stars and describe the
rules that govern the subatomic world.
The study, published May 11 in the journal Science, reports a highly accurate
way to measure the decay rate of neutrons. An author on the study, Chen-Yu Liu,
is a professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of
Physics.
"This is a significant improvement compared to previous experiments," said Liu,
who is a leader on the UNCtau experiment, which uses...
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Full article
07-05-2018
Université Grenoble Alpes
THE APPARENT INNER CALM OF QUANTUM MATERIALS
Physicists from UNIGE, University Grenoble Alpes, CEA and CNRS in Saclay and
Grenoble have been the first to confirm a theory on topological phase
transitions, a field of research initiated by the 2016 Nobel Prize-winners in
physics.
Transitions between different phases of matter are part of our day-to-day lives:
when water freezes, for example, it passes from liquid to solid state. Some of
these transitions may be of a different kind, resulting from so-called
topological excitations that force all the particles to act in unison.
Researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE) and the CEA,CNRS and UGA have
been studying BACOVO – a one-dimensional quantum material unknown to the general
public – in collaboration with scientists...
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23-04-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
NEUTRONS PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO INCREASED PERFORMANCE FOR HYBRID PEROVSKITE SOLAR
CELLS
Neutron scattering 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 increased efficiency.
The multi-institutional team of researchers from the Department of Energy’s Oak
Ridge National Laboratory, Hunan University and the University of
Nebraska–Lincoln used photoluminescence measurements, along with neutron and
x-ray scattering, to study the relationship between the material’s microscopic
structure and its optoelectronic properties. By examining the material under
varying degrees of temperature, the researchers were able to track atomic
structural changes and...
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18-04-2018
Phys.org
SPINACH USED IN NEUTRON STUDIES COULD UNEARTH SECRET TO STRONGER PLANT GROWTH
Plants, algae, and other organisms produce the RuBisCO enzyme to convert carbon
dioxide from the atmosphere into energy-rich molecules, like glucose, that form
carbohydrates and other organic carbon compounds essential to life on earth.
This catalytic process is called "carbon fixation." A better understanding of
the specific activity involved when RuBisCO kick-starts this chemical reaction
could be instrumental to enhancing the enzyme's efficiency and facilitating
faster plant growth—a desirable result that could increase crop yields while
conserving fertilizer and natural resources.
To this end, researchers from Uppsala University are using neutrons at the
Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)...
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11-04-2018
STFC
UK LAB HELPS REVEAL SECRETS OF 3000 YEAR OLD EGYPTIAN VASES
Scientists have used neutron techniques at the UK’s ISIS Neutron and Muon Source
to non-invasively investigate the contents of two containers from the tomb of a
married couple who walked the streets of ancient Egypt in 1400BC. This was at a
time when Thebes in Egypt was the largest city in the World.
Jump forward 3,500 years to 2018 and UK scientists and their Italian colleagues
were able to create reconstructions of the inner parts of both vases to
understand their structure and elemental composition without touching, damaging
or taking samples from either artefact.
The two vases were discovered in 1906, when the Italian archaeologist Ernesto
Schiaparelli and the Inspector of Antiquities at Luxor, Arthur Weigall, opened
the...
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09-04-2018
Phys.org
UNLOCKING THE SECRETS OF ICE
The complex properties of water and ice are not well understood but a team from
UCL and the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source have revealed new information about a
phase of ice called ice II.
Given that water makes up 60% of our bodies and is one of the most abundant
molecules in the universe, it's no wonder that water is known as the "matrix of
life."
There are many different forms of ice – all of which vary significantly from the
ice you'd find in your freezer. Ice takes on many different forms depending on
the pressure at which it developed.
As water freezes its molecules rearrange themselves, and high pressure causes
the molecules to rearrange in different ways than they normally would. The many
distinct phases of ice...
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19-03-2018
Phys.org
NEUTRONS HELP DEMYSTIFY MULTIFERROIC MATERIALS
Materials used in electronic devices are typically chosen because they possess
either special magnetic or special electrical properties. However, an
international team of researchers using neutron scattering recently identified a
rare material that has both.
In their paper published in Advanced Materials, the team, including researchers
from the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL),
illustrates how this unique marriage is achieved in the multiferroic material
BiMn3Cr4O12. Many materials are known for just one characteristic magnetic or
electrical property, or for having the ability to change shape, but
multiferroics contain some combination of these attributes.
Multiferroics are typically...
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22-02-2018
Phys.org
NEUTRINO EXPERIMENTS LOOK TO REVEAL BIG ANSWERS ABOUT HOW THESE FUNDAMENTAL
PARTICLES INTERACT WITH MATTER
Except in horror movies, most scientific experiments don't start with scientists
snooping around narrow, deserted hallways. But a tucked-away location in the
recesses of the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(ORNL) provided exactly what Yuri Efremenko was looking for.
Efremenko, an ORNL researcher and University of Tennessee at Knoxville
professor, is the spokesperson for the COHERENT experiment, which is studying
neutrinos. The team uses five particle detectors to identify a specific
interaction between neutrinos and atomic nuclei. The most abundant particles in
the universe, neutrinos are extremely light and have no electric charge. They
interact very little with other particles. In fact, trillions pass...
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20-02-2018
Nature
CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS: MAGNETIC FIELD DRIVES SPINS TO A LIQUID
A sufficiently large magnetic field suppresses long-range magnetic order in
α-RuCl3, leaving a disordered state with a gapped continuum spectrum of magnetic
excitations, similar to that expected for the famous Kitaev quantum spin liquid.
An international team led by Stephen E. Nagler from Oak Ridge National
Laboratory in the USA performed time-of-flight neutron scattering to study low
energy magnetic excitations of α-RuCl3. They observed that the application of a
sufficiently large magnetic field to this material suppressed spin waves
associated with the long-range order, and drove it to an unusual excited state.
By comparison with calculations, these results are consistent with the Kitaev
quantum spin liquid state in a...
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19-02-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
NEUTRONS REVEAL THE WILD WEYL WORLD OF SEMIMETALS
“Weyl semimetals are kind of the Holy Grail in physics right now,” said Alan
Tennant, chief scientist at ORNL’s Neutron Sciences Directorate. “Some of these
types of materials are showing quantum behavior at room temperature, which is
precisely what has to be achieved to provide a path toward quantum electronics.”
The observation of an abnormal state of matter in a two-dimensional magnetic
material is the latest development in the race to harness novel electronic
properties for more robust and efficient next-generation devices.
Neutron scattering at the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (ORNL) helped a multi-institutional team led by Tulane University
investigate a graphene-like strontium-manganese...
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15-02-2018
STFC
NEUTRONS TURN DETECTIVE TO HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW ELECTRONS BEHAVE IN METALS
An international team of scientists have utilised the UK’s neutron and muon
source, the ISIS facility, to study the structure of electrons in useful
materials – such as those with superconductivity or magnetism.
In certain materials, electrons interact with each other very strongly – these
are known as strongly correlated electron systems. These materials can have
useful properties such as superconductivity or magnetism, and scientists have
been studying how such electrons behave for more than five decades to try to
unlock their secrets.
The experimental techniques often used to study electrons, such as photoemission
spectroscopy, have limitations, but until recently it was not thought to be
feasible to measure the...
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14-02-2018
IFJ PAN / BrightSurf.com
THE SEARCH FOR DARK MATTER: AXIONS HAVE EVER FEWER PLACES TO HIDE
If they existed, axions - one of the candidates for particles of the mysterious
dark matter - could interact with the matter forming our world, but they would
have to do this to a much, much weaker extent than it has seemed up to now. New,
rigorous constraints on the properties of axions have been imposed by an
international team of scientists responsible for the nEDM experiment.
The latest analysis of measurements of the electrical properties of ultracold
neutrons published in the scientific journal Physical Review X has led to
surprising conclusions. On the basis of data collected in the nEDM (Electric
Dipole Moment of Neutron) experiment, an international group of physicists -
including the Cracow-based scientists from the Institute...
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13-02-2018
Quanta Magazine
NEUTRON LIFETIME PUZZLE DEEPENS, BUT NO DARK MATTER SEEN
Two methods of measuring the neutron's longevity give different answers,
creating uncertainty in cosmological models. But no one has a clue what the
problem is.
When physicists strip neutrons from atomic nuclei, put them in a bottle, then
count how many remain there after some time, they infer that neutrons
radioactively decay in 14 minutes and 39 seconds, on average. But when other
physicists generate beams of neutrons and tally the emerging protons — the
particles that free neutrons decay into — they peg the average neutron lifetime
at around 14 minutes and 48 seconds.
The discrepancy between the “bottle” and “beam” measurements has persisted since
both methods of gauging the neutron’s longevity began yielding results in...
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12-02-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
NEUTRON STUDY OF GLAUCOMA DRUGS OFFERS CLUES ABOUT ENZYME TARGETS FOR AGGRESSIVE
CANCERS
New insights from neutron analysis of glaucoma drugs and their enzyme target may
help scientists design drugs that more effectively target aggressive cancers.
A team of researchers led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National
Laboratory used neutron macromolecular crystallography to investigate the
different states of three glaucoma drugs as they interact with the targeted
enzyme, human carbonic anhydrase II (hCA II).
“Our goal was to observe differences in the presentation of three clinically
used glaucoma drugs while they are bound to the hCA II enzyme,” said Andrey
Kovalevsky, an instrument scientist at ORNL and a senior co-author of the study.
“By looking at how well these drugs target hCA II in protonated...
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12-02-2018
Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering
TRANSFERRABLE SKILLS: MATERIALS RESEARCH FOSTERS ANALYTICAL SKILLS THAT REACH
WELL BEYOND THE LABORATORY
By studying soft and biological materials with sophisticated tools like neutron
beams, graduate students in biophysics are able to develop advanced analytical
skills that can be transferred to a wide range of professional careers in all
areas of Canada’s economy.
“Choose science” has been the message to young people and their parents from
Canada’s Minister of Science, Kirsty Duncan. That’s because science not only
generates valuable knowledge, it also develops confidence and skills in the
young people who participate in the scientific process.
This is especially true of fundamental science, which both challenges and
inspires. Some young people are stirred by the prospect of making important
scientific discoveries and will...
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01-02-2018
Nature.com
THE EFFECTS OF PRESSURE ON THE ENERGY LANDSCAPE OF PROTEINS
Protein dynamics is characterized by fluctuations among different conformational
substates, i.e. the different minima of their energy landscape. At temperatures
above ~200 K, these fluctuations lead to a steep increase in the thermal
dependence of all dynamical properties, phenomenon known as Protein Dynamical
Transition.
In spite of the intense studies, little is known about the effects of pressure
on these processes, investigated mostly near room temperature.
We studied by neutron scattering the dynamics of myoglobin in a wide temperature
and pressure range. Our results show that high pressure reduces protein motions,
but does not affect the onset temperature for the Protein Dynamical Transition,
indicating that the energy...
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30-01-2018
Science & Technology Facilities Council (UK)
STUDYING PRECIOUS PEARLS USING NOVEL NEUTRON IMAGING TECHNIQUE
A new, non-destructive neutron technique has been used to study the inner form
of one of mankind’s most precious biological objects – the pearl.
This technique could be used to help differentiate between the highly valuable
naturally-formed pearls from the less desirable farm-cultured variety.
This imaging study looked at the aptly-named soufflé pearl, which is so-called
because of its empty core.
Using the IMAT instrument at the Science and Technology Facilities Council’s
ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, every square centimetre of pearl sample was
bombarded with 5.9 million neutrons per second. A powerful camera was then used
to map the neutrons and build a detailed tomographic reconstruction of the
pearl.
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29-01-2018
Scientific American
MISSING NEUTRONS MAY LEAD A SECRET LIFE AS DARK MATTER
This may be the reason experiments can’t agree on the neutron lifetime,
according to a new idea
Neutrons shouldn’t be all that mysterious. Found inside every atomic nucleus,
they may seem downright mundane—but they have long confounded physicists who try
to measure how long these particles can live outside of atoms. For more than 10
years researchers have tried two types of experiments that have yielded
conflicting results. Scientists have struggled to explain the discrepancy, but a
new proposal suggests the culprit may be one of the biggest mysteries of all:
dark matter.
Scientists are pretty sure the universe contains more matter than the stuff we
can see, and their best guess is that it takes the form of invisible...
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29-01-2018
Nature.com
HYDRATION STRUCTURE OF REVERSE OSMOSIS MEMBRANES STUDIED VIA NEUTRON SCATTERING
AND ATOMISTIC MOLECULAR SIMULATION
Reverse osmosis (RO) membranes are becoming popular as energy saving and
environmentally friendly materials for the desalination of water.
Toward the rational design of RO membranes, we performed contrast-variation
neutron scattering measurements and atomistic molecular dynamics (MD)
simulations on polyamide/water systems with various water contents and
deuteration ratios. The experimental and computational structure factors showed
good agreement for all the systems examined.
The structure of the water-rich polyamide/water system obtained from MD
calculation showed that the water clusters are well connected to each other, and
a relatively large number of water molecules are present at a distance over 3 Å
from the polyamide...
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25-01-2018
IFE Norway
IFE AND THE JEEP II-RESEARCH-REACTOR IS AN IMPORTANT ALLY FOR THE ESS
Prof. Andreas Schreyer, The Director of Science at ESS visited the JEEP
II-reactor at Kjeller, Norway on January the 23rd. Prof. Schreyer underlined the
importance of the JEEP II-reactor. “The JEEP II-reactor produces neutrons, which
we need” said Prof. Schreyer. “IFE and the JEEP II-rector are important. The
Institute develops instruments which are vital to the ESS. IFE is a recognized
partner and we look forward to a long lasting cooperation”.
The Director of Science seemed pleased as he was shown the reactor and it's
facilities. Prof. Schreyer was visiting IFE in conjunction with a seminar on the
possibilities with neutrons at the European Spallation Source and the upgrade of
instrumentation at the JEEP II-reactor.
The...
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25-01-2018
University of California - Riverside
USING HIGH PRESSURE TO STUDY MATERIAL’S PROPERTIES AND INNOVATE MULTI-FUNCTIONAL
MATERIALS
Have you ever wondered how researchers are able to understand and discover
different properties of materials? Prof. Chen Li’s research group in the
Mechanical Engineering Department is using high pressure as a tool to (1)
understand the physics of fundamental excitations in the materials; (2) tune the
properties of existing energy materials; and (3) engineer innovative
multi-functional materials through high pressure synthesis or other indirect
approaches.
Professor Li’s group uses diamond anvil cells by methods of Raman, X-ray
scattering, and neutron scattering to create extreme high pressure up to 100
Gigapascal. This allows the study of lattice dynamics, magnons, and transport
properties under extreme conditions. The high...
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22-01-2018
Physics World
TARGETED INFECTION CONTROL
Medical devices that incorporate hydrogels into silicone rubber could release
antibiotics into areas where they are needed most. Erik Brok, Caroline
Boudou, Martin Alm and Peter Thomsen describe how neutron scattering is helping
researchers to understand and optimize the structure of these silicone-hydrogel
networks.
Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) are one of the biggest challenges in modern
healthcare. Within this wider problem, urinary-tract infections associated with
catheter use are a particular concern: in 2001 a US study found more than half a
million cases each year, accounting for approximately 40% of all HAIs (Int. J.
Antimicrob. Agents 17 299). Such infections often stem from biofilms that form
when a catheter is...
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22-01-2018
Nature: Materials
THERMOCHROMIC HALIDE PEROVSKITE SOLAR CELLS
Smart photovoltaic windows represent a promising green technology featuring
tunable transparency and electrical power generation under external stimuli to
control the light transmission and manage the solar energy.
Here, we demonstrate a thermochromic solar cell for smart photovoltaic window
applications utilizing the structural phase transitions in inorganic halide
perovskite caesium lead iodide/bromide. The solar cells undergo
thermally-driven, moisture-mediated reversible transitions between a transparent
non-perovskite phase (81.7% visible transparency) with low power output and a
deeply coloured perovskite phase (35.4% visible transparency) with high power
output.
The inorganic perovskites exhibit tunable colours and...
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17-01-2018
Physica Scripta
THE HYDROGEN ANOMALY PROBLEM IN NEUTRON COMPTON SCATTERING
Neutron Compton scattering (also called 'deep inelastic scattering of neutrons',
DINS) is a method used to study momentum distributions of light atoms in solids
and liquids. It has been employed extensively since the start-up of intense
pulsed neutron sources about 25 years ago.
The information lies primarily in the width and shape of the Compton profile and
not in the absolute intensity of the Compton peaks. It was therefore not
immediately recognized that the relative intensities of Compton peaks arising
from scattering on different isotopes did not always agree with values expected
from standard neutron cross-section tables. The discrepancies were particularly
large for scattering on protons, a phenomenon that became known as...
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16-01-2018
Institut Laue-Langevin
NEUTRONS REVEAL HIDDEN SECRETS OF THE HEPATITIS C VIRUS
• p7 is a protein essential for the release of the hepatitis C virus, however
little data is currently available on the way it interacts with its environment,
hindering the development of vaccinations for it
• Researchers have observed the structure of a functional p7 protein within
its native environment for the first time using reflected neutrons
• The specific protein insertion mechanism observed will help to outline
potential target mechanisms for future drug development
Erik Watkins, former ILL FIGARO Instrument Scientist, said: “This new approach
is a simple and efficient method complementary to other structural and more
complex techniques such as NMR and crystallography. This has proved a powerful
tool for...
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11-01-2018
Argonne National Laboratory
BREAKING BAD METALS WITH NEUTRONS
“Neutrons are absolutely essential for this research. Neutron scattering is the
only technique that is sensitive to the whole spectrum of electronic
fluctuations in four dimensions of momentum and energy, and the only technique
that can be reliably compared to realistic theoretical calculations on an
absolute intensity scale.” -Ray Osborn, Argonne senior scientist
By exploiting the properties of neutrons to probe electrons in a metal, a team
of researchers led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National
Laboratory has gained new insight into the behavior of correlated electron
systems, which are materials that have useful properties such as magnetism or
superconductivity.
The research, to be published in Scienc...
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11-01-2018
World of Chemicals
COMMON ‘OXYGEN SPONGE’ CATALYST SOAKS UP HYDROGEN TOO
Having the right tool for the job enabled scientists at the Department of
Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and their collaborators to discover that
a workhorse catalyst of vehicle exhaust systems—an “oxygen sponge” that can soak
up oxygen from air and store it for later use in oxidation reactions—may also be
a “hydrogen sponge.”
The finding, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, may pave
the way for the design of more effective catalysts for selective hydrogenation
reactions. Selective hydrogenation is the key to producing valuable chemicals,
for example, turning triple-bonded hydrocarbons called alkynes selectively into
double-bonded alkenes — starting materials for the synthesis of plastics, fuels
and...
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10-01-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
NEUTRONS INSPECT SALT-INCLUSION MATERIALS TO IMPROVE LONG-TERM WASTE STORAGE
A team of researchers from the University of South Carolina is using neutrons to
develop more durable and efficient materials called waste forms for safely
storing hazardous substances.
The USC team recently visited the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National
Laboratory to study salt-inclusion materials (SIMs) that contain internal
silicate channels with the capacity to safely immobilize nuclear waste. The
researchers hope to obtain valuable insights into the materials’ properties
using resources at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source such as the POWGEN
instrument, SNS beamline 11A.
“We are studying SIMs with the intent to create new materials that more
efficiently and safely sequester nuclear waste...
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10-01-2018
Phys.org
THE ATOMIC DYNAMICS OF RARE EVERLASTING ELECTRIC FIELDS
The discovery could help scientists develop new materials with similar
properties for novel computing devices and micro-actuators.
By ricocheting neutrons off the atoms of yttrium manganite (YMnO3) heated to
3,000 degrees Fahrenheit, researchers have discovered the atomic mechanisms that
give the unusual material its rare electromagnetic properties.
The experiment was conducted as a collaboration between Duke University and Oak
Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and appeared online in Nature Communications on
January 2, 2018.
Ferromagnetism is the scientific term for the phenomenon responsible for
permanent magnets like iron. Such materials exist because their molecular
structure consists of tiny magnetic patches that...
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03-01-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
NEUTRONS—EXOTIC PARTICLES FOR QUANTUM COMPUTING
A novel approach for studying magnetic behavior in a material called
alpha-ruthenium trichloride may have implications for quantum computing.
By suppressing the material’s magnetic order, scientists from Oak Ridge National
Laboratory and the University of Tennessee observed behavior consistent with
exotic particles that are predicted to emerge when energy is added to a quantum
spin liquid, or QSL. QSLs exist in certain materials where magnetic moments
fluctuate in a liquid-like state rather than forming an ordered pattern.
The team disrupted the material’s magnetic order by substituting iridium ions
for ruthenium, then used neutron scattering to characterize the resulting
magnetic behavior. “Through this process, we saw...
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03-01-2018
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
FOSSIL ENERGY—NEUTRONS RUN DEEP
To improve models for drilling, hydraulic fracturing and underground storage of
carbon dioxide, Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists used neutrons to
understand how water flows through fractured rock.
Researchers used neutrons bouncing off the hydrogen in water molecules to see
inside the rock’s microstructure without destroying it and quantify water uptake
in real time.
“One of the biggest challenges with shale is that it’s such a complex system,”
ORNL’s Victoria DiStefano said. “Neutrons help us grasp the complex rock and
fracture properties, which determine how quickly water uptake occurs in the
rock.” Results of the study, which used rock samples from the oil- and gas-rich
Eagle Ford Shale Formation in Texas, are...
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13-12-2017
Institut Laue-Langevin
ILL D20’S NEUTRON BEAM YIELDS IMPORTANT CLUES TO THE UNCONVENTIONAL ORIGINS OF
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY
Iron-based superconductors contain layers of iron and a pnictogen – such as
arsenic or phosphorus – or a chalcogen, like oxygen or selenium. Previously
dismissed as weak candidates for superconductivity, iron-based superconductors
took the science community by surprise when it was discovered that the new iron
arsenide family had very high transition temperatures.
Since then these high-temperature superconductors have become a hot topic of
research, with neutrons and muons playing an essential role in investigating
their unusual properties, in order to help quantum physics develop a theory
behind high-temperature superconductive materials.
A team of researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Ibaraki
University, the...
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12-12-2017
Quanta Magazine
NEUTRINOS SUGGEST SOLUTION TO MYSTERY OF UNIVERSE’S EXISTENCE
Updated results from a Japanese neutrino experiment continue to reveal an
inconsistency in the way that matter and antimatter behave.
From above, you might mistake the hole in the ground for a gigantic elevator
shaft. Instead, it leads to an experiment that might reveal why matter didn’t
disappear in a puff of radiation shortly after the Big Bang.
I’m at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex, or J-PARC — a remote and
well-guarded government facility in Tokai, about an hour’s train ride north of
Tokyo. The experiment here, called T2K (for Tokai-to-Kamioka) produces a beam of
the subatomic particles called neutrinos. The beam travels through 295
kilometers of rock to the Super-Kamiokande (Super-K) detector, a gigantic...
RELATED CONTENT
* Particle Physics at ESS
Full article
11-12-2017
Nature Communications
MAGNETOSTRICTION-POLARIZATION COUPLING IN MULTIFERROIC MN2MNWO6
Double corundum-related polar magnets are promising materials for multiferroic
and magnetoelectric applications in spintronics. However, their design and
synthesis is a challenge, and magnetoelectric coupling has only been observed in
Ni3TeO6 among the known double corundum compounds to date.
Here we address the high-pressure synthesis of a new polar and antiferromagnetic
corundum derivative Mn2MnWO6, which adopts the Ni3TeO6-type structure with low
temperature first-order field-induced metamagnetic phase transitions (TN = 58 K)
and high spontaneous polarization (~ 63.3 μC·cm−2). The
magnetostriction-polarization coupling in Mn2MnWO6 is evidenced by second
harmonic generation effect, and corroborated by magnetic-field-dependent...
RELATED CONTENT
* Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
Full article
07-12-2017
Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin
SOLAR ENERGY: DEFECTS IN KESTERITE SEMICONDUCTORS STUDIED USING NEUTRONS
A research team at the HZB has precisely characterised for the first time the
various types of defects in kesterite semiconductors. They achieved this with
the help of neutron scattering at the BER II research reactor and at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory in the USA. The findings point to a means of guided
optimisation for kesterite solar cells.
“The point defects we investigated experimentally really correspond quite well
to the theoretical model of potential defects”, declared Dr. Galina Gurieva from
the HZB Structure and Dynamics of Energy Materials group. “We can deduce
concrete clues from this study as to which point defects in which concentration
to expect in the given composition of kesterite thin films ”, says Gurieva.
“This...
RELATED CONTENT
* Chemistry of Materials, Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
* Neutrons: The Science of Everyday Life
Full article
06-12-2017
Wired
THE AI COMPANY THAT HELPS BOEING COOK NEW METALS FOR JETS
At HRL Laboratories in Malibu, California, materials scientist Hunter Martin and
his team load a grey powder as fine as confectioner’s sugar into a machine.
They’ve curated the powder recipe—mostly aluminum, blended with some other
elements—down to the atom. The machine, a 3-D metal printer, lays the powder
down a single dusting at time, while a laser overhead welds the layers together.
Over several hours, the machine prints a small block the size of brownie.
HRL’s parent companies, Boeing and General Motors, want to 3-D print intricate
metal parts in mass for their sleek new generation of cars and planes. Airbus
has already installed the first-ever 3-D printed metal part on a commercial
airplane, a bracket that attaches to its...
RELATED CONTENT
* Engineering Materials at ESS
* BEER Instrument
Full article
30-11-2017
Phys.org
NEUTRONS REVEAL FAST METHANE TRANSLATIONAL DIFFUSION AT THE INTERFACE OF TWO
CLATHRATE STRUCTURES
Umbertoluca Ranieri, PhD student at ILL and EPFL, and lead author of this study
says: "These results are important in improving our understanding of many
fundamental non-equilibrium phenomena involving methane clathrate hydrates; for
example, the replacement kinetics during gas exchange in case of conversion
between the clathrate structures I and II. This knowledge will also help us to
tackle important energy and environmental issues such as methane recovery from
marine hydrates sediments and carbon dioxide capture in the future."
Gas clathrate hydrates are ice-like solids, in which gas molecules or atoms are
trapped inside crystalline frameworks formed by water molecules. They have
attracted considerable attention over the last...
RELATED CONTENT
* Sample Environment Systems for High Pressure and Mechanical Processing at ESS
* BIFROST Instument
Full article
30-11-2017
Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering
NEUTRON BEAMS PROVIDE INSIGHTS INTO BIO-MOLECULAR DIFFUSION
Memorial University physicists are using neutron beams to shed light on the
molecular behaviours that are fundamental to the inner workings of living cells.
In collaboration with physicists from the University of Wisconsin and Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL) in the U.S., Yethiraj and graduate student Swomitra
Palit demonstrated that neutron beams can indeed be used to obtain independent
size measurements of polymers in crowded solutions. To get these measurements,
they travelled to ORNL to use a specialized technique called ‘small-angle
neutron scattering’ (SANS), which is currently unavailable in Canada (although a
SANS beamline is presently being built at the McMaster Nuclear Reactor and
should be completed in 2019).
...
RELATED CONTENT
* Life Science & Soft Condensed Matter at ESS
* Research on Polymers Points to Future of Region as Global Materials Science
Hub
Full article
29-11-2017
Phys.org
ELASTIC INCOHERENT NEUTRON SCATTERING AT ILL CHALLENGE THE LINDEMANN CRITERION
IN PROTEINS
Proteins are the nano-machines that Nature uses to perform most of the processes
critical for the metabolism in cells. One of the key goals of life and physical
sciences revolves around understanding the structural and dynamic properties of
the native, transition, intermediate, and denatured states of proteins. The
denaturation transition – defined as the transition of proteins from their
specific native functional state to the unfolded inoperative state – is of
particular interest, as it is defining the boundaries of stability and
functionality of the phase diagram of proteins.
Internal subnanosecond timescale motions are also key for protein folding –
without these proteins could not even fold in their native structure...
RELATED CONTENT
* Life Science & Soft Condensed Matter at ESS
* MIRACLES Instrument
Full article
28-11-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
THE RIGHT MIX: WATER AND NEUTRONS WITH EUGENE MAMONTOV
Eugene Mamontov’s background in both basic and applied science has made him a
valued partner for scientists who come to the Spallation Neutron Source at ORNL
in search of a better understanding of the water dynamics in their
research—projects as diverse as studying plant cellulose or analyzing
nanostructured membranes for desalination.
Mamontov is the lead instrument scientist for BASIS, the backscattering,
crystal-analyzer spectrometer at the SNS that is particularly good at
deciphering the dynamics of water in various systems.
“We predominately study hydrogen-bearing materials on BASIS, and many of them
are water-related,” Mamontov said. “There’s a good reason we are so preoccupied
with water. It is a molecule mostly made...
RELATED CONTENT
* Life Science & Soft Condensed Matter at ESS
* MIRACLES Instrument
Full article
27-11-2017
ISIS Neutron & Muon Source
GETTING TO GRIPS WITH CORROSION
NEUTRON REFLECTOMETRY HAS BEEN USED TO IMPROVE OUR FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF
CORROSION AND CORROSION INHIBITORS.
In Neutron Reflectometry for Studying Corrosion and Corrosion Inhibition,
published in Metals, Mary Wood and Stuart Clarke of the University of Cambridge
discuss the great potential of neutron reflectometry (NR) to improve our
fundamental understanding of corrosion and corrosion inhibitors. NR presents
some challenges, in that very clean and flat samples are required, low neutron
flux can dictate long measurement times and gaining access to international
facilities is a competitive process. However, NR is a powerful and
non-destructive tool that can characterise the thickness, roughness and
composition of metal films...
RELATED CONTENT
* Estia, A Truly Focusing Reflectometer
* Revealing Change Over Time, FREIA Brings Fast Kinetic Studies to
Reflectometry
* Chemistry of Materials at ESS
Full article
22-11-2017
Physics (APS)
SYNOPSIS: PEERING INTO A MOLECULAR MAGNET
Researchers characterize the spin couplings in the prototypical single-molecule
magnet Mn12 using an advanced neutron scattering technique.
Single-molecule magnets could work as nanosized bits for future data storage
technology. But, decades on from the discovery of the first molecular magnets,
researchers still don’t have a good understanding of how the individual spins in
the complex molecules interact. Now Paolo Santini of the University of Parma in
Italy and his colleagues have characterized the spin couplings in the archetypal
molecular magnet, the twelve-ion manganese cluster, Mn12. The results—based on
neutron scattering—could help in chemically designing new molecules with desired
magnetic properties.
The Mn12...
RELATED CONTENT
* Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
Full article
21-11-2017
Pan European Networks
ULTRA-COLD NEUTRONS AID THE SEARCH FOR DARK MATTER
Since the start of its operation in 1985, the experimental installation
‘Physique Fondamentale 2’ (PF2) at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble,
France, has been the only user facility for ultra-cold neutron (UCN) research in
the world, until recently.
Ultra-cold neutrons play an important role in addressing key questions of
particle physics at the low-energy, high-precision frontier, complementary to
the high-energy frontier probed at particle accelerators.
An unusual property of UCNs is that their kinetic energy is so small that they
can become trapped in material and/or magnetic bottles, hence are observable for
long times.
It is unsurprising then, that over the last 30 years since its inception,
data...
RELATED CONTENT
* Particle Physics at ESS
* Agreement Between ESS and ILL Signals Increased Cooperation on R&D
Full article
21-11-2017
Asian Scientist
JAPAN SCALES UP PARTICLE PHYSICS RESEARCH
The Next-generation Neutrino Science Organization will oversee the
Hyper-Kamiokande nucleon decay and neutrino experiment.
Scientists in Japan are pushing forward with the Hyper-Kamiokande project which
aims to address the mysteries of the origin and evolution of the Universe’s
matter. To realize these goals, it will combine a high intensity neutrino beam
from the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) with a new detector
approximately ten times larger than the present Super-Kamiokande detector.
In collaboration with the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research (ICRR) and the Kavli
Institute for the Physics and Mathematics of the Universe (Kavli IPMU), the
University of Tokyo announced the launch of its Next-generation...
RELATED CONTENT
* Particle Physics at ESS
* Visit by J-PARC Director Opens Doors for Swedish-Japanese Research
Collaboration
Full article
20-11-2017
Linnæus University
NEW RESEARCH MAY PROVIDE BETTER ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS IN THE FUTURE
Supported by a grant from the Swedish Research Council, researchers at Linnaeus
University will conduct experimental and theoretical studies of magnetic
topological materials, a field awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics 2016. Possible
results of the project include new types of energy-efficient magnetoelectronic
components.
Conductors, semiconductors and insulators. That is the traditional
classification of materials based on their ability to conduct, partially conduct
or not conduct electrical current. Examples of these three types of material are
copper, silicon and plastic.
Over the past ten years, however, new materials with unique properties have been
discovered, the so-called topological isolators (TI) and topological...
RELATED CONTENT
* Nobel Prize in Physics Once Again Highlights Essential Role of Neutron
Scatteri…
* Chemistry of Materials, Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
Full article
15-11-2017
University of Sussex
HUNT FOR DARK MATTER IS NARROWED BY NEW UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX RESEARCH
Scientists at the University of Sussex have disproved the existence of a
specific type of axion - an important candidate ‘dark matter’ particle - across
a wide range of its possible masses.
The data were collected by an international consortium, the Neutron Electric
Dipole Moment (nEDM) Collaboration, whose experiment is based at the Paul
Scherrer Institut in Switzerland. Data were taken there and, earlier, at the
Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble.
Professor Philip Harris, Head of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the
University of Sussex, and head of the nEDM group there, said:
“Experts largely agree that a major portion of the mass in the universe consists
of ‘dark matter’. Its nature, however, remains...
RELATED CONTENT
* Particle Physics at ESS
Full article
15-11-2017
Brock University
BROCK PHYSICIST ON THE HUNT FOR NEUTRON BEAM SOURCE
A team of Canadian scientists, headed up by Brock University Associate Professor
of Physics Thad Harroun, is travelling to Sweden next week in hopes of striking
up a partnership to access the European Spallation Source (ESS), a neutron beam
source facility being built there.
The meetings are meant to prepare for next year’s closure of Canada’s National
Research Universal nuclear reactor in Chalk River, Ont.
The 60-year-old reactor — the world’s oldest operating research reactor — is
slated to shut down in March 2018, after which Canadian and other scientists
will no longer be able to use the highly specialized equipment in their
experiments.
“We understand the decision, but we’re a casualty of that decision,” says...
RELATED CONTENT
* Visit of Canadian Neutron Science Delegation to ESS
* Canadian State Visit Puts ESS Collaboration in the Spotlight
Full article
15-11-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
CYANOBACTERIAL STUDIES EXAMINE CELLULAR STRUCTURE DURING NITROGEN STARVATION
Using nondestructive neutron scattering techniques, scientists are examining how
single-celled organisms called cyanobacteria produce oxygen and obtain energy
through photosynthesis.
Collaborators from Washington University in St. Louis and the US Department of
Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are conducting a series of
experiments to study the behavior of phycobilisomes—large antenna protein
complexes in cyanobacteria cells—using the Bio-SANS instrument, beamline CG‑3,
at the lab’s High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). Phycobilisomes harvest light to
initiate photosynthesis, and a better understanding of this process could help
researchers design more efficient solar panels and other artificial structures
that...
RELATED CONTENT
* Life Science & Soft Condensed Matter at ESS
* LoKI Instrument: Broadband SANS
Full article
14-11-2017
Nature
CHINA FIRES UP NEXT-GENERATION NEUTRON-SCIENCE FACILITY
Beam generator puts country in elite company for doing experiments in materials
science and other fields.
China is revving up its next-generation neutron generator and will soon start
experiments there. That will lift the country into a select group of nations
with facilities that produce intense neutron beams to study the structure of
materials.
The China Spallation Neutron Source (CSNS) in Dongguan, a 2.2-billion-yuan
(US$331-million) centre, will allow the country’s growing pool of top-notch
physicists and material scientists, along with international collaborators, to
compete in multiple physics and engineering fields. Its designers also hope that
the facility will lead to commercial products and applications ranging...
RELATED CONTENT
* About ESS
* Science Using Neutrons
Full article
13-11-2017
Phys.org
NEUTRONS PROBE OXYGEN-GENERATING ENZYME FOR A GREENER APPROACH TO CLEAN WATER
A new study sheds light on a unique enzyme that could provide an eco-friendly
treatment for chlorite-contaminated water supplies and improve water quality
worldwide.
An international team of researchers led by Christian Obinger from the
University of Vienna used neutron analysis at Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
x-ray crystallography and other techniques to study the chlorite dismutase
enzyme. This naturally occurring protein can break down chlorite, an industrial
pollutant found in groundwater, drinking water and soils, into harmless
byproducts, but its catalytic process is not well understood. Understanding how
the bacterial enzyme converts chlorite into chloride and oxygen could open
possibilities for future applications in...
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* Neutrons: The Science of Everyday Life
* NMX Instrument
Full article
12-11-2017
International Business Times
THIS SUPER-SENSITIVE, FLEXIBLE MATERIAL GENERATES ELECTRIC ENERGY ON BEING
STRETCHED OR COMPRESSED
The thin and flexible material works on the piezoelectric effect – the idea of
converting mechanical stress into electric charges.
A group of researchers has developed a unique rubber-like organic material that
produces electricity on being stretched or compressed.
The thin and flexible material, which is quite hard to produce at present, works
on the piezoelectric effect – the ability of certain materials to convert
mechanical stress into electric charges, Phys.orgreports.
The phenomenon has been seen widely in analogue record players that guide a
needle through the grooves of a record to generate mechanical vibrations. These
vibrations are then converted into electric impulses, which are further
amplified to...
RELATED CONTENT
* Chemistry of Materials, Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
* Life Science & Soft Condensed Matter at ESS
Full article
10-11-2017
Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering
NEUTRONS AID THE DEVELOPMENT OF CANCER-KILLING NANOPARTICLES
A University of Manitoba physicist is part of an international research team
developing a cancer treatment method that uses magnetic nanoparticles to kill
tumours with heat.
The idea of using heat to destroy cancerous tumours has been around for a long
time. However, according to Johan van Lierop, a professor of physics at the
University of Manitoba, “the challenge is to overheat the tumour without
overheating the surrounding healthy tissue as well.” So far, this challenge has
limited the use of heat treatment to only a handful of cancer applications, such
as treating certain kinds of brain tumours.
Medical researchers around the world are feverishly searching for ways to
overcome this challenge, as today’s cancer treatments...
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* New Drug Carrier Delivers Cancer Medication with Better Control
* New Drug Carrier Aims to Treat Secondary Tumours of Breast Cancer
* Life Science & Soft Condensed Matter at ESS
Full article
10-11-2017
Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering
NEUTRON EXPERIMENTS ADD CONFIDENCE TO NUCLEAR REACTOR SAFETY
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories is a leader in sciences that are foundational to
reactor safety—including the ability to predict the lifetimes of critical
components used in nuclear power stations around the world, especially those in
CANDU reactors.
One of the distinct advantages of CANDU reactors is the fact that they don’t
require enriched fuel to operate. That’s because the CANDU design uses heavy
water, which enables the use of natural (i.e., unenriched) uranium as fuel.
In the latter half of the 20th century, while other nuclear vendor nations were
focusing on light water reactors (which do depend on enriched fuel), Canada
developed its heavy water technology. Today, there are several CANDUs operating
overseas and a...
RELATED CONTENT
* Engineering Materials at ESS
* Building Europe’s Next Flagship Engineering Diffractometer: The Future is
BEER
Full article
09-11-2017
Phys.org
MACHINE LEARNING AND DEEP LEARNING PROGRAMS PROVIDE A HELPING HAND TO SCIENTISTS
ANALYZING IMAGES
Physicists on the MINERvA neutrino experiments at the Department of Energy's
Fermilab faced a conundrum. Their particle detector was swamping them with
images. The detector lights up every time a neutrino, a tiny elementary
particle, breaks into other particles. The machine then takes a digital photo of
all of the new particles' movements. As the relevant interactions occur very
rarely, having a huge amount of data should have been a good thing. But there
were simply too many pictures for the scientists to be able to analyze them as
thoroughly as they would have liked to.
"Most of the scientific work that's being done today produces a tremendous
amount of data where basically, you can't get human eyes on all of it," said
Catherine...
RELATED CONTENT
* ESS Data Management & Software Centre
* Data Handling for ESS Instruments Makes Headway in Collaboration With UK’s
STFC
* Particle Physics at ESS
Full article
09-11-2017
Journal of Nuclear Science & Technology
MEASUREMENTS OF NEUTRONIC CHARACTERISTICS OF RECTANGULAR AND CYLINDRICAL COUPLED
HYDROGEN MODERATORS
Extensive simulation calculations were performed in the design studies of the
coupled hydrogen moderator for the pulsed spallation neutron source of the Japan
Proton Accelerator Research Facility (J-PARC). It was indicated that a
para-hydrogen moderator had an intensity-enhanced region at the fringe part, and
that pulse shapes emitted from a cylindrical para-hydrogen moderator gave higher
pulse-peak intensities with narrower pulse widths than those from a rectangular
one without penalizing the time-integrated intensities. To validate the peculiar
distribution and advantages in pulse shapes experimentally, some measurements
were performed at the neutron source of the Hokkaido University electron linear
accelerator facility. It was observed...
RELATED CONTENT
* Physics Underlying ESS 2015 Moderator Design Tested at J-PARC
* Novel Technology Advances as Budapest Neutron Centre Leads Optimisation of
ESS …
* Target Systems
Full article
08-11-2017
Ames Laboratory
PERFECTLY FRUSTRATED METAL PROVIDES POSSIBLE PATH TO SUPERCONDUCTIVITY, OTHER
NEW QUANTUM STATES
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory has discovered and described the
existence of a unique disordered electron spin state in a metal that may provide
a unique pathway to finding and studying frustrated magnets.
Condensed matter physicists use the term “frustrated” to describe a kind of
magnet in which the spins fail to align into stable magnetic order. In perfectly
frustrated magnets called spin liquids, the disordered magnetism of these
materials persists even at very low temperatures, and their unique properties
are of interest in the development of quantum computing and high-temperature
superconductivity.
The materials investigated to search for this perfectly frustrated magnetic
state are typically insulators...
RELATED CONTENT
* Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
* Dispersionless Spin Waves Provide Clues to Enigmatic Magnetic Ordering in
Garne…
* Neutrons Unlock the Hidden-Order State of Frustrated Magnets
Full article
07-11-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
NEUTRON SPECTROSCOPY REVEALS COMMON ‘OXYGEN SPONGE’ CATALYST SOAKS UP HYDROGEN
TOO
Having the right tool for the job enabled scientists at the Department of
Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and their collaborators to discover that
a workhorse catalyst of vehicle exhaust systems—an “oxygen sponge” that can soak
up oxygen from air and store it for later use in oxidation reactions—may also be
a “hydrogen sponge.”
The finding, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, may pave
the way for the design of more effective catalysts for selective hydrogenation
reactions. Selective hydrogenation is the key to producing valuable chemicals,
for example, turning triple-bonded hydrocarbons called alkynes selectively into
double-bonded alkenes—starting materials for the synthesis of plastics, fuels
and...
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* VESPA Instrument: Vibrational Spectrometer
* Chemistry of Materials at ESS
Full article
06-11-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
RESISTING THE RESISTANCE: NEUTRONS SEARCH FOR CLUES TO COMBAT BACTERIAL THREATS
The discovery of penicillin almost 90 years ago ushered in the age of modern
antibiotics, but the growth of antibiotic resistance means bacterial infections
like pneumonia and tuberculosis are becoming more difficult to treat.
Researchers at the US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (ORNL) are conducting a series of experiments at ORNL’s Spallation
Neutron Source (SNS) to make sense of this phenomenon. Using
the MaNDi instrument, SNS beamline 11B, they hope to better understand how
bacteria containing enzymes called beta-lactamases resist the beta-lactam class
of antibiotics. Any antibiotic containing a beta-lactam ring made up of organic
compounds falls under this category.
“We are looking for...
RELATED CONTENT
* NMX Instrument: Macromolecular Crystallography
* Life Science & Soft Condensed Matter at ESS
Full article
02-11-2017
National Geographic
MYSTERIOUS VOID DISCOVERED IN EGYPT'S GREAT PYRAMID
Discovered using cosmic-ray muon detectors, the cavity is the first major inner
structure discovered in the pyramid since the 1800s.
Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza—one of the wonders of the ancient world, and a
dazzling feat of architectural genius—contains a hidden void at least a hundred
feet long, scientists announced on Thursday.
The void is the first large inner structure discovered within the 4,500-year-old
pyramid since the 1800s—a find made possible by recent advances in high-energy
particle physics. The results were published in the journal Nature.
“This is definitely the discovery of the century,” says archaeologist and
Egyptologist Yukinori Kawae, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer. “There
have been many...
RELATED CONTENT
* Geosciences, Archeology & Heritage Conservation at ESS
* Nature (doi:10.1038/nature24647)
Full article
30-10-2017
Institut Laue-Langevin
NOT EASY TO (UN)TWIST! MNSI UNDER A MAGNETIC FIELD
ILL, ISIS, Ames Lab, and TU-Delft collaborate on chiral magnetism study
Chiral magnetism attracts a great amount of attention since the observation of
chiral skyrmion lattices in the reference system MnSi. These chiral skyrmions
have dimensions significantly larger than the lattice constant, are
topologically protected, and may have applications in spintronics and novel
devices for information storage. In systems like MnSi the non-trivial behavior
emerges from a relativistic effect, the Dzyaloshinsky-Moriya (DM) interaction,
that twists the magnetic moments with respect to each other.
This interaction becomes noticeable in the absence of a center of symmetry of
the crystallographic structure and it is usually weak...
RELATED CONTENT
* Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
* LoKI: Broadband SANS
* SKADI: General Purpose SANS
Full article
26-10-2017
World Economic Forum
IT'S UP TO THE WORLD OF SCIENCE TO PROVIDE EVERYONE WITH CLEAN, AFFORDABLE WATER
Thom Mason | Senior Vice President for Laboratory Operation, Battelle Memorial
Institute, USA
One of the most fundamental measures of quality of life is access to clean
water. Today two thirds of humanity face water stress at some point during the
year and one in 10 do not have clean water. As populations grow so will the
demands for drinking water and agriculture. At the same time climate change will
impact available resources.
Neutron sources such as the Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National
Laboratory and the European Spallation Source being built right next to MAX-IV
use neutrons to explore the fundamental properties of advanced materials.
Supercomputers couple the information on structure and dynamics obtained...
RELATED CONTENT
* Neutrons: The Science of Everyday Life
* Science Using Neutrons
Full article
19-10-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
NEUTRONS REVEAL SUPPRESSION OF MAGNETIC ORDER IN PURSUIT OF A QUANTUM SPIN
LIQUID
Paige Kelley, a postdoctoral researcher with a joint appointment at the
University of Tennessee and the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL), is using neutrons to study specific crystal
properties that could lead to the realization of a quantum spin liquid, a novel
state of matter that may form the basis of future quantum computing
technologies.
“In a quantum spin liquid, spins continually fluctuate due to quantum effects
and never enter a static ordered arrangement, in contrast to conventional
magnets,” Kelley said. “These states can host exotic quasiparticles that can be
detected by inelastic neutron scattering.”
Recently, she and her team saw evidence of those quasiparticles in alpha...
RELATED CONTENT
* Neutrons Unlock the Hidden-Order State of Frustrated Magnets
* Chemistry of Materials, Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
Full article
20-10-2017
Pan European Networks
A NOVEL PICTURE OF THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY
Dr Marc de Boissieu, senior scientist at CNRS, tells PEN about new research on
thermal conductivity in complex materials
The engineering of thermal conductivity in semiconducting materials is a central
issue in the development of modern nano- and microtechnologies, and low thermal
conductivity is important in materials used in technology products as it
provides thermal insulation and thus the reduction of heat transfer, ensuring
the products do not overheat.
In new neutron experiments conducted at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) and the
French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), researchers have provided
a direct quantitative measurement of phonon lifetimes in a clathrate, offering a
novel picture of thermal...
RELATED CONTENT
* Instruments at ESS
* Chemistry of Materials, Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
Full article
19-10-2017
Phys.org
SCIENTISTS QUESTION ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT PLANET FORMATION
A paper published this week in Astrophysical Journal, led by Open University
academics, has examined the exact structure and behaviour of the icy particles
that collide and grow at the onset of planet-formation, in a series of revealing
experiments at the UK's world-leading neutron source, ISIS.
Senior Lecturer in Astronomy at the School of Physical Sciences, Dr. Helen
Fraser, says, "We are already aware of thousands of planets orbiting stars in
our own galaxy, as remnants of star-formation, and yet there still isn't a model
anywhere in science that can explain exactly how planets form. Our basic
understanding is that small particles stick together, building bigger particles,
which then also stick, and so forth, until eventually, we...
RELATED CONTENT
* Sample Environment Systems for High Pressure and Mechanical Processing
(PREMP)
* Particle Physics at ESS
Full article
16-10-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
NEUTRONS OBSERVE VITAMIN B6-DEPENDENT ENZYME ACTIVITY USEFUL FOR DRUG
DEVELOPMENT
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 16, 2017 – Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak
Ridge National Laboratory have performed neutron structural analysis of a
vitamin B6-dependent protein, potentially opening avenues for new antibiotics
and drugs to battle diseases such as drug-resistant tuberculosis, malaria and
diabetes.
Specifically, the team used neutron crystallography to study the location of
hydrogen atoms in aspartate aminotransferase, or AAT, an enzyme vital to the
metabolism of certain amino acids.
“We visualized the first neutron structure of a vitamin B6 enzyme that belongs
to a large protein family with hundreds of members that exist in nature,” said
ORNL’s Andrey Kovalevsky, a senior co-author of the study, which was...
RELATED CONTENT
* NMX - Macromolecular Crystallography
* Deuteration and Macromolecular Crystallisation at ESS
Full article
16-10-2017
The Washington Post
SCIENTISTS DETECT GRAVITATIONAL WAVES FROM A NEW KIND OF NOVA, SPARKING A NEW
ERA IN ASTRONOMY
Some 130 million years ago, in a galaxy far away, the smoldering cores of two
collapsed stars smashed into each other. The resulting explosion sent a burst of
gamma rays streaming through space and rippled the very fabric of the universe.
On Aug. 17, those signals reached Earth — and sparked an astronomy revolution.
The distant collision created a “kilonova,” an astronomical marvel that
scientists have never seen before. It was the first cosmic event in history to
be witnessed via both traditional telescopes, which can observe electromagnetic
radiation like gamma rays, and gravitational wave detectors, which sense
the wrinkles in space-time produced by distant cataclysms. The detection, which
involved thousands of...
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* Particle Physics at ESS
Full article
13-10-2017
Institute of Physics: Physics World
PHYSICS WORLD FOCUS ON NEUTRON SCIENCE
* Jonathan Taylor, head of the ESS Data Management & Software Centre, reviews
the data-management challenges facing neutron sources and other large-scale
research facilities as they strive to maximize the scientific and economic
impact of their work
* Neutron scattering experiments can generate up to 50 terabytes of
data. Jean-François Perrin explains how scientists at the Institut
Laue-Langevin, where he is head of computing services, manage these data
appropriately.
* Mats Lindroos, head of the accelerator division at the European Spallation
Source (ESS), reflects on the progress of the flagship new neutron facility
being built outside Lund, Sweden.
* Casper Rutjes and Ute Ebert trace how our understanding of thunderstorm
physics has...
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* Data Handling for ESS Instruments
* Neutron Science at ESS
Physics World October Issue
13-10-2017
STFC / ISIS / Univ. of Leeds
NEW RESEARCH COULD EXPLAIN HOW RIVER-LIKE CHANNELS FORMED ON MARS
A new research paper published today could help to explain how the mysterious
channels, which look like dried-up riverbeds, could have formed on the surface
of Mars.
ISIS senior scientist Dr Alan Soper was part of the research team, and he said:
“This research is particularly fascinating because it could help us to answer
some of the great mysteries about life on other planets... [It] represents a
very exciting step forward in the search for extra-terrestrial liquid water—and
with it, life.”
Ref.: Highly compressed water structure observed in a perchlorate aqueous
solution (Nature Communications)
RELATED CONTENT
* Geosciences at ESS
* Sample Environment Systems for High Pressure and Mechanical Processing
(PREMP)
Full article
13-10-2017
Phys.org
MIMETIC MARTIAN WATER IS UNDER PRESSURE
Researchers investigating whether liquid water could exist on Mars have provided
new insight into the limits of life on the red planet.
A team led by Dr Lorna Dougan from the University of Leeds has analysed the
structure of water in a magnesium perchlorate solution —what they refer to as
"mimetic Martin water"—to better understand how the liquid could exist on the
Martian surface.
Martian soil samples gathered by the Phoenix Lander in 2009 found calcium and
powerful oxidants, including magnesium perchlorate. This fuelled speculation
that perchlorate brine flows might be the cause of channelling and weathering
observed on the planet's surface.
Ref.: Highly compressed water structure observed in a perchlorate aqueous
solution ...
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* Geosciences at ESS
* Sample Environment Systems for High Pressure and Mechanical Processing
Full article
02-10-2017
Phys.org
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY FOUND IN THIN FILMS OF TIO2
Many of us are familiar with titanium dioxide (TiO2), a whitener commonly used
in sunscreens and paints such as the white lines seen on tennis courts. Less
well known are other higher titanium oxides—those with a higher number of
titanium and oxygen atoms than TiO—that are now the subject of intensifying
research due to their potential use in next-generation electronic devices.
Now, researchers at Tokyo Tech have reported superconductivity in two kinds of
higher titanium oxides prepared in the form of ultrathin films. With a thickness
of around 120 nanometers, these materials reveal properties that are only just
beginning to be explored.
"We succeeded in growing thin films of Ti4O7 and γ-Ti3O5 for the first time,"
says Kohei...
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* Chemistry of Materials, Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
* Tokyo Institute of Technology
Full article
25-09-2017
ISIS Neutron Source
THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF INELASTIC NEUTRON SCATTERING
Emma Cooper
The use of electron-volt neutron spectroscopy in materials research is a growing
area of neutron science, capitalizing upon the unique insights provided by
epithermal neutrons on the behaviour and properties of an increasing number of
complex materials.
Professor Carla Andreani, recipient of the 2016 Giuseppe Occhialini Medal and
Prize for her “outstanding contributions to novel experimental techniques and
methods in neutron spectroscopy and her tireless commitment to fostering the
British–Italian collaboration in neutron science" has published two reviews
in Advances in Physics, which capture the rapid progress in the field.
RELATED CONTENT
* Spectroscopy at ESS
* Life Science & Soft Condensed Matter at ESS
* Chemistry of Materials, Magnetic & Electronic Phenomena at ESS
Full article
22-09-2017
CERN Courier
NEUTRINOS ON NUCLEI
Detailed modelling of the way neutrinos interact with nuclei is crucial if DUNE
and other long-baseline neutrino experiments are to extract essential neutrino
properties.
A major focus of experiments at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is to search for
new phenomena that cannot be explained by the Standard Model of particle
physics. In addition to sophisticated analysis routines, this requires detailed
measurements of particle tracks and energy deposits produced in large detectors
by the LHC’s proton–proton collisions and, in particular, precise knowledge of
the collision energy. The LHC’s counter-rotating proton beams each carry an
energy of 6.5 TeV and this quantity is known to a precision of about 0.1 per
cent – a feat that requires...
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* Particle Physics at ESS
Full article
22-09-2017
CERN Courier
OBITUARY: BJØRN JACOBSEN 1961-2017
Norwegian delegate to the CERN Council and previous chair of the CERN Finance
Committee, Bjørn Jacobsen, passed away on 13 June after a few months of illness.
Bjørn co-ordinated the support of all physics programmes of the Research Council
of Norway. More recently he served as a special adviser of the Norwegian
contribution to large international infrastructure programmes such as the
European Spallation Source, the European Incoherent Scatter Scientific
Association and the Nordic Optical Telescope.
Jacobsen studied physics at the University of Oslo, where he obtained his PhD in
space physics in 1991. He spent the next 12 years...
Full article
21-09-2017
sciencemag.org
CANADA’S NEUTRON SCIENTISTS LAMENT CLOSURE OF WORLD’S OLDEST NUCLEAR REACTOR
The world’s oldest operating nuclear reactor is in the twilight of its life, but
the scientists who rely on it for their research are not going gentle into that
good night. Canadian scientists are upset about the imminent closure of the
Chalk River research reactor and are lobbying the government for a CA$200
million ($162 million) commitment so they can continue to perform materials
research using the neutron beams that research reactors provide.
Full article
11-09-2017
Science X Phys.org
NEUTRONS PROVIDE A NOVEL PICTURE OF THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY IN COMPLEX MATERIALS
A multi-partner study published today in Nature Communications has addressed
phonon lifetime measurement challenges using inelastic neutron scattering (INS)
and neutron resonant spin-echo (NRSE) experiments conducted at the Institut Laue
Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble, and Laboratoire Léon Brillouin (LLB) Saclay, France.
Whereas the "glass-like" thermal conductivity of the clathrate
Ba7.81Ge40.67Au5.33 has frequently been associated with a short phonon lifetime,
this study measured for the first time to date a very long phonon lifetime using
a large single crystal sample of high quality. The study also reveals a dramatic
reduction of the number of phonons carrying heat, as a result of structural
complexity, allowing a simple and general...
Full article
06-09-2017
Science X Phys.org
FIRST NEUTRON BEAM PRODUCED: A GREAT MILESTONE FOR CHINA SPALLATION NEUTRON
SOURCE
Researchers produced a neutron beam at the China Spallation Neutron Source
(CSNS) for the first time on August 28. The achievement is a milestone for the
CSNS project as it marks the completion of main construction and the start of
the test operation phase. The national CSNS facility, located in Dongguan,
Guangdong Province, should be fully completed and open to domestic and
international users by 2018, as scheduled.
Full article
03-09-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
ORNL RESEARCHERS TURN TO ‘DEEP LEARNING’ TO SOLVE SCIENCE’S BIGGEST DATA PROBLEM
A team of researchers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been awarded nearly
$2 million over three years from the U.S. Department of Energy to explore the
potential of machine learning in revolutionizing scientific data analysis.
The Advances in Machine Learning to Improve Scientific Discovery at Exascale and
Beyond (ASCEND) project aims to use deep learning to assist researchers in
making sense of massive datasets produced at the world’s most sophisticated
scientific facilities.
Full article
03-08-2017
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
WORLD’S SMALLEST NEUTRINO DETECTOR FINDS BIG PHYSICS FINGERPRINT
OAK RIDGE, Tenn.—After more than a year of operation at the Department of
Energy’s (DOE’s) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the COHERENT experiment,
using the world’s smallest neutrino detector, has found a big fingerprint of the
elusive, electrically neutral particles that interact only weakly with matter.
The research, performed at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and published
in the journal Science, provides compelling evidence for a neutrino interaction
process predicted by theorists 43 years ago, but never seen.
Full article
02-08-2017
Canadian Institute for Neutron Scattering
NEUTRONS HELP TO REMOVE BARRIERS STANDING IN THE WAY OF SAFER, BETTER BATTERIES
FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES
After using neutron beams to better understand materials required for safer
energy storage, University of Calgary chemists and their international
collaborators were able to demonstrate a prototype battery that showed major
improvements to performance.
Electric vehicles promise to revolutionize transportation—but safer,
better-performing batteries must first be developed before this potential can be
turned into a reality. One of the primary challenges is to find a less hazardous
electrolyte material for the batteries used in ‘green’ cars. Indeed, the
lithium-ion batteries used in today’s electric and plug‑in hybrid vehicles (as
well as in portable electronic devices) typically contain flammable liquids as
their electrolyte; as such...
Full article
07-07-2017
Niels Bohr Institute
IRON SECRETS BEHIND SUPERCONDUCTORS UNLOCKED
SUPERCONDUCTORS: Due to magnetism iron should - theoretically - be a poor
superconductor. Nevertheless certain ironbased materials possess fine
superconducting properties. Why? Because the five unbound electrons found in
iron - as a result of individual modes of operation, it turns out - facilitate
superconductivity. This new, long sought-for explanation - appearing in this
weeks issue of Science - is the result of international co-operation between
experts from the Niels Bohr Institute (NBI) i Copenhagen, Denmark, and
colleagues from a number of other scientific institutions in Europa and USA.
Full article
05-06-2017
Nature Scientific Reports
CAPTURING 3D WATER FLOW IN ROOTED SOIL BY ULTRA-FAST NEUTRON TOMOGRAPHY
Non-invasive imaging techniques are the key for better understanding the
root-soil interaction which is of great relevance for both plant and soil
scientists. Neutrons are a unique probe for non-destructive investigation of
root-soil systems.
We demonstrated the ability of ultra-fast tomography to quantitatively image
quick changes of water content in the rhizosphere and outlined the value of such
imaging data for 3D water uptake modelling. The presented method paves the way
for time-resolved studies of various 3D flow and transport phenomena in porous
systems.
Full article
10-05-2017
Pan European Networks
FOCUS: NEUTRONS VERSUS DISEASE
The Institut Laue-Langevin’s Anne Martel and Giovanna Fragneto explain how
neutrons are supporting the fight against against chronic conditions like
diabetes and dementia.
At the ILL, we recently conducted a study in collaboration with researchers from
the Institute for Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago and
Institut de Biologie Structurale in Grenoble, with the aim of enhancing our
knowledge of the cytotoxic mechanisms of islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), a
hormone co-secreted with insulin by ß-cells. We investigated the interaction
between IAPP and model membranes – both membrane permeation and the structural
effects of IAPP – using a range of techniques including neutron scattering and
reflectometry methods. This study...
Full article
07-02-2017
University of Copenhagen
RESEARCHERS WILL FIND THE STRUCTURE OF THE SMALLEST BUILDING BLOCKS IN
NANO-CHEMISTRY
SUBSTANCES IN SOLUTION AND SOLID MATERIALS: Two young researchers from
University of Copenhagen have received funding - DKK 10 million each - to build
up research groups to study the relationship between the structure of materials
at the nano-scale and their properties. New knowledge in this can provide a
foundation for everything from better batteries to purification of nuclear
waste.
Full article
PARTNERSHIPS & COLLABORATIONS
BRIGHTNESS² KICKS OFF TO BRING TOGETHER A SUSTAINABLE EUROPEAN NEUTRON ECOSYSTEM
Research organisations and facilities from 11 different countries have jointly
set off on a three year journey...
Read more
FOUNDING MEMBERS SIGN CHARTER ESTABLISHING NEUTRON SOURCE CONSORTIUM LENS
Representatives of eight European research infrastructures, including the...
Read more
ESS, MAX IV & SCILIFELAB JOIN FORCES TO CREATE NEW LIFE SCIENCE HUB
Read more
DANISH GOVERNMENT AND ACADEMIA COME TOGETHER TO ADVANCE ESS STRATEGIC
PARTNERSHIPS
Six Danish universities and the Danish Agency for Science and Higher
Education...
Read more
ESS AND MAX IV: COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION FOR BETTER SCIENCE
The European Spallation Source and MAX IV Laboratory signed a formal
Memorandum...
Read more
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