Coated particle fuel fabricated at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in cooperation with Idaho National Laboratory, General Atomics, and the Babcock & Wilcox Company, has set a world record for advanced high temperature gas-cooled reactor fuel. In recent tests at INL's Advanced Test Reactor, the ORNL f...
Electronic devices of the future may benefit from a fundamental discovery that allows researchers to customize the electronic properties of complex materials such as single-crystal thin-film structures. In a letter published in Nature Physics, lead author Thomas "Zac" Ward of Oak Ridge National Labo...
Titanium dioxide, the same inexpensive white pigment that protects us from sunburns, can be converted into a material that absorbs sunlight and could greatly increase the efficiency of solar energy cells. Until now, however, researchers had not been able to overcome the inherent wide band gap associ...
Fuel economy ratings for the new 2010 model year automobiles are now posted at the https://www.fueleconomy.gov web site, which Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed and maintains for the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Nine of the top 10 vehicles on the best...
Heavy trucks are a little less heavy but just as safe and rugged because of steel rail frames provided by Metalsa Roanoke, which enlisted the help of Cam Hubbard and the High Temperature Materials Laboratory User Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. By working with ORNL, the Virginia manufactur...
By discovering a technique to guide the ferroelectric switching process in bismuth ferrite, a team led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Nina Balke has moved one step closer to developing more rugged memory and logic devices. One key to the success is that the material has both electrical and magne...
Advanced computer simulations could be a big hit for truckers and the people who design guardrails, protective barriers and roadway signs. Srdjan Simunovic of Oak Ridge National Laboratory is part of a team conducting a study aimed at gaining a better understanding of crash performance of these safe...
Information sharing technologies at the heart of Web 2.0 are being integrated into an Oak Ridge National Laboratory freight tracking system that could revolutionize the industry. Most importantly, IntelligentFreight will add a level of communication and safety beyond what is in place today, accordin...
Graphene, a single-layer sheet of graphite, has potential as a remarkable material, particularly for electronics and composite applications. However, working with the material leaves molecular-scale rough edges, which spoil its properties. Theory-based computer simulations performed by researchers a...
Construction and installation has been completed recently on the newest instrument at the Department of Energy's Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The Single-Crystal Diffractometer, also known as TOPAZ, will greatly expand the range of materials explored in chemistry, earth...