Neutrons reveal the existence of local symmetry breaking in a Weyl semimetal
At ORNL, a group of scientists used neutron scattering techniques to investigate a relatively new functional material called a Weyl semimetal. These Weyl fermions move very quickly in a material and can carry electrical charge at room temperature. Scientists think that Weyl semimetals, if used in future electronics, could allow electricity to flow more efficiently and enable more energy-efficient computers and other electronic devices.
The 26th annual National School on Neutron and X-ray Scattering School concluded on August 9, 2024. Each year, more than 200 graduate students in North America studying physics, chemistry, engineering, biological matter and more compete to participate in NXS. However, given limited space, only 60 can be accepted. The school exposes graduate students to neutron and X-ray scattering techniques through lectures, experiments, and tutorials.
The world’s fastest supercomputer helped researchers simulate synthesizing a material harder and tougher than a diamond — or any other substance on Earth. The study used Frontier to predict the likeliest strategy to synthesize such a material, thought to exist so far only within the interiors of giant exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system.
Advanced materials research to enable energy-efficient, cost-competitive and environmentally friendly technologies for the United States and Japan is the goal of a memorandum of understanding, or MOU, between the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Japan’s National Institute of Materials Science.
In May, the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge and Brookhaven national laboratories co-hosted the 15th annual International Particle Accelerator Conference, or IPAC, at the Music City Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Researchers at ORNL and the University of Maine have designed and 3D-printed a single-piece, recyclable natural-material floor panel tested to be strong enough to replace construction materials like steel.
A group of high school graduates and community college students visited ORNL to meet staff and find out just what goes on at a DOE national laboratory. The Job Shadow Day was arranged by tnAchieves, a student support organization that works to increase higher educational opportunities for students across Tennessee through scholarships and mentorship.
Researchers set a new benchmark for future experiments making materials in space rather than for space. They discovered that many kinds of glass have similar atomic structure and arrangements and can successfully be made in space. Scientists from nine institutions in government, academia and industry participated in this 5-year study.
The BIO-SANS instrument, located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Flux Isotope Reactor, is the latest neutron scattering instrument to be retrofitted with state-of-the-art robotics and custom software. The sophisticated upgrade quadruples the number of samples the instrument can measure automatically and significantly reduces the need for human assistance.
The new section of tunnel will provide the turning and connecting point for the accelerator beamline between the existing particle accelerator at ORNL’s Spallation Neutron Source and the planned Second Target Station, or STS. When complete, the PPU project will increase accelerator power up to 2.8 megawatts from its current record-breaking 1.7 megawatts of beam power.