As current courses through a battery, its materials erode over time. Mechanical influences such as stress and strain affect this trajectory, although their impacts on battery efficacy and longevity are not fully understood.
Warming a crystal of the mineral fresnoite, ORNL scientists discovered that excitations called phasons carried heat three times farther and faster than phonons, the excitations that usually carry heat through a material.
Scientists at ORNL used neutron scattering to determine whether a specific material’s atomic structure could host a novel state of matter called a spiral spin liquid.
A multidisciplinary team of scientists at ORNL has applied a laser-interference structuring, or LIS, technique that makes significant strides toward eliminating the need for hazardous chemicals in corrosion protection for vehicles.
Scientists at ORNL and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, have found a way to simultaneously increase the strength and ductility of an alloy by introducing tiny precipitates into its matrix and tuning their size and spacing.
Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory used new techniques to create a composite that increases the electrical current capacity of copper wires, providing a new material that can be scaled for use in ultra-efficient, power-dense electric vehicle tr
In the quest for domestic sources of lithium to meet growing demand for battery production, scientists at ORNL are advancing a sorbent that can be used to more efficiently recover the material from brine wastes at geothermal power plants.
Six new nuclear reactor technologies are set to deploy for commercial use between 2030 and 2040. Called Generation IV nuclear reactors, they will operate with improved performance at dramatically higher temperatures than today’s reactors.
Ionic conduction involves the movement of ions from one location to another inside a material. The ions travel through point defects, which are irregularities in the otherwise consistent arrangement of atoms known as the crystal lattice.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have improved a mixture of materials used to 3D print permanent magnets with increased density, which could yield longer lasting, better performing magnets for electric motors, sensors and vehicle applications.