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Temperature is represented by different colors for this heat sink for a 50-kilowatt DC-to-DC converter with red being the hottest.
Increased power densities in electronics will require more efficient heat sinks, and additive manufacturing combined with a simple thermal annealing process could help designers meet that goal. A team that includes Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Tong Wu reported that while a 3-D printed aluminum alloy heat sink equaled or measured 10 percent worse than those manufactured conventionally, after the treatment the performance gap vanished.
Temperature is represented by different colors for this heat sink for a 50-kilowatt DC-to-DC converter with red being the hottest.

Production run spot checks of materials for lithium-ion batteries and fuel cells could be a thing of the past because of a process developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The infrared/thermal nondestructive evaluation technique invented by a team led by David Wood examines key parameters such as porosity and thickness of the coating in real time without destroying product.

Cistern Spring in Yellowstone National Park is home to the elusive archaeon Nanopusillus acidilobi.
A microbial partnership thriving in an acidic hot spring in Yellowstone National Park has surrendered some of its lifestyle secrets to researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Mircea Podar of ORNL’s Biosciences Division led a team t...
Earth system models simulate Northern Hemisphere greening.
A multinational team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory Climate Change Science Institute has found the first positive correlation between human activity and enhanced vegetation growth. The research team, led by Jiafu Mao of the Ecosys...
Gas bubbles are released from a saturated part of the Barrow Environmental Observatory.
A new study published in Nature Climate Change indicates soil moisture levels will determine how much carbon is released to the atmosphere as rising temperatures thaw Arctic lands.
Baohua Gu

Baohua Gu, a distinguished senior scientist in the Environmental Sciences Division of the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, has been elected a fellow of the Geological Society of America (GSA). 

Future Formula E cars could be powered by batteries that feature up to 30 percent increased energy density.

Drivers of Formula E cars may soon no longer have to change cars midway through the race, thanks to a battery coating technology developed by XALT Energy of Michigan and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. By depositing a nanoscale layer of alumina on oxide cathodes, researchers have incre...

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., May 24, 2016 -- Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been selected for funding negotiations for  a competitive award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) that aims to develop a low-cost, mul

Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been selected for funding negotiations for a competitive award from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) that aims to develop a low-cost, multilayer, highly transparent and thermally insulating film for window applications.

A 3D structure of the HIV-1 protease in cartoon representation with bound clinical drug darunavir (shown as sticks).
A team led by the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory used neutron analysis to better understand a protein implicated in the replication of HIV, the retrovirus that causes AIDS. The enzyme, known as HIV-1 protease, is a key drug target for HIV and AIDS therapies. &nbs...
ORNL carbon fiber processing technology co-invented by Felix Paulauskas (left) has been licensed to RMX Technologies, represented by vice president for research and development Truman Bonds.

RMX Technologies of Knoxville, Tenn., and the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have signed an exclusive licensing agreement for a new technology that dramatically reduces the time and energy needed in the production of carbon fiber. Lowering the ...