Polyphase wireless power transfer system achieves 270-kilowatt charge, s...
Scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory are taking a closer look at how sturgeon, a prehistoric — and now imperiled — group of fish species may better be helped to get around the dams that block their migrations. Hydropower is a major renewable ener...
![In unbound calyx[4]pyrrole, two pyrrole “petals” are flipped up and two, down.](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/news/images/anion_hr5_0.jpg?itok=sGtLzH0E "In unbound calyx[4]pyrrole, two pyrrole “petals” are flipped up and two, down.")
Atomic charges in chemical solutions are like Switzerland—they strive for neutrality. The tendency to balance charges drives dynamics when charged atoms or molecules, called ions, are present in solutions. Recently, researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laborat...
Lipid molecules have split personalities—one part loves water, whereas the other avoids it at all costs. Lipids make up cell membranes, the frontline defense in preventing cellular access to bacterial and viral invaders.
Many researchers believe that the membrane is not just a scaf...
Rare earth elements are metals used in technologies from wind turbines and magnetic resonance imaging agents to industrial catalysts and high-definition televisions. Most are lanthanides, elements with atomic number from 57 to 71, lanthanum to lutetium, in the periodic table. The la...
Nearly 100 commercial nuclear reactors supply one-fifth of America’s energy. For each fuel rod in a reactor assembly, only 5 percent of its energy is consumed before fission can no longer be sustained efficiently for power production and the fuel assembly must be replaced. Power plan...
The global marketplace demands constant improvements in performance and efficiency of aircraft engines, power turbines and other modern mainstays of energy technology. This progress requires advanced structural materials, such as ceramic composites and metal alloys with higher-t...
A study led by the University of Tennessee and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory could soon pay dividends in the development of materials with energy-related applications. Three UT researchers—Maik Lang, assistant professor
A novel technique known as in-situ plasma processing is helping scientists get more neutrons and better data for their experiments at the Spallation Neutron Source at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
“Plasma cleaning is a well-known technique in electrosta...
Moving advanced nuclear reactors from the drawing board to the field was the focus of the Advanced Reactors Technical Summit III, hosted by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and attended by 180 experts from industry, government and academia. The conference, ...
Ask a biofuel researcher to name the single greatest technical barrier to cost-effective ethanol, and you’re likely to receive a one-word response: lignin.
Cellulosic ethanol—fuel derived from woody plants and waste biomass—has the potential to become an affordable, renew...