Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Neutron Science (5)
- Advanced Manufacturing (4)
- Biological Systems (1)
- Biology and Environment (21)
- Building Technologies (1)
- Clean Energy (28)
- Climate and Environmental Systems (2)
- Computational Engineering (2)
- Computer Science (10)
- Fusion Energy (6)
- Isotope Development and Production (1)
- Isotopes (4)
- Materials (26)
- Materials for Computing (7)
- Mathematics (1)
- National Security (2)
- Nuclear Science and Technology (11)
- Nuclear Systems Modeling, Simulation and Validation (1)
- Quantum information Science (3)
- Supercomputing (20)
- Transportation Systems (1)
News Topics
- (-) Bioenergy (1)
- (-) Materials Science (3)
- (-) Nuclear Energy (1)
- Artificial Intelligence (1)
- Biomedical (2)
- Chemical Sciences (1)
- Energy Storage (2)
- Environment (1)
- Materials (3)
- Microscopy (1)
- Nanotechnology (1)
- Neutron Science (23)
- Physics (1)
- Quantum Science (1)
- Space Exploration (1)
- Transportation (1)
Media Contacts
![Neutron scattering experiments at the Spallation Neutron Source revealed how the dynamics between copper and oxygen make a special type of enzyme excel at breaking down biomass. Insights could lead to lowering the cost of biofuel production. Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-05/23-G02576_Meilleur_0.png?h=b6717701&itok=jPIOwV6b)
Nonfood, plant-based biofuels have potential as a green alternative to fossil fuels, but the enzymes required for production are too inefficient and costly to produce. However, new research is shining a light on enzymes from fungi that could make biofuels economically viable.
![Heat is typically carried through a material by vibrations known as phonons. In some crystals, however, different atomic motions — known as phasons — carry heat three times faster and farther. This illustration shows phasons made by rearranging atoms, shown by arrows. Credit: Jill Hemman/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2023-02/23-G01840_Phason_Manly_proof3_0.png?h=10d202d3&itok=3NpjriWi)
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.
![UTK researchers used neutron probes at ORNL to confirm established fundamental chemical rules can also help understand and predict atomic movements and distortions in materials when disorder is introduced, as arrows show. Credit: Eric O’Quinn/UTK](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-11/Neutrons-disordered_ordered_0.png?h=e91a75a9&itok=hlh7xoRJ)
Pauling’s Rules is the standard model used to describe atomic arrangements in ordered materials. Neutron scattering experiments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory confirmed this approach can also be used to describe highly disordered materials.
![Nuclear — Seeing inside particles](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2020-04/Kernels-nuclear%20materials-2_0.jpg?h=ae51ec69&itok=_AWiopZz)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers working on neutron imaging capabilities for nuclear materials have developed a process for seeing the inside of uranium particles – without cutting them open.
![Materials—Engineering heat transport](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2019-05/Materials-Engineering_heat_transport.png?h=abd215d5&itok=PJPSWa9s)
Scientists have discovered a way to alter heat transport in thermoelectric materials, a finding that may ultimately improve energy efficiency as the materials