From the ancient pyramids to modern buildings, various three-dimensional (3-D) structures have been formed by packing shaped objects together. At the macroscale, the shape of objects is fixed and thus dictates how they can be arranged. For example, bricks attached by mortar retain their elongated rectangular shape. But at the nanoscale, the shape of objects…
Integrating Scientific Computing Into Science Curricula
With guidance from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory, nearby Adelphi University just added a new minor in scientific computing—the use of computers to solve real-world science problems. Students enrolled in the minor will begin taking classes this fall, and the hope is that they will join the computing workforce of the…
Optimizing Network Software to Advance Scientific Discovery
High-performance computing (HPC)—the use of supercomputers and parallel processing techniques to solve large computational problems—is of great use in the scientific community. For example, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory rely on HPC to analyze the data they collect at the large-scale experimental facilities on site and to model complex…
U.S. Research Team Expands Quantum Network With Successful Long-Distance Entanglement Experiment
Scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, Stony Brook University, and DOE’s Energy Sciences Network (ESnet) are collaborating on an experiment that puts U.S. quantum networking research on the international map. Researchers have built a quantum network testbed that connects several buildings on the Brookhaven Lab campus using unique portable quantum entanglement sources…
‘Nanowrappers’ Used to Carry and Release Nanoscale Cargo
This holiday season, scientists at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)—a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory—have wrapped a box of a different kind. Using a one-step chemical synthesis method, they engineered hollow metallic nanosized boxes with cube-shaped pores at the corners and demonstrated how these “nanowrappers” can…
Accelerated Computing Hackathon Returns for Second Year
From simulating the universe’s formation to developing machine learning-based technology of the future, modern scientific discoveries increasingly depend on our ability to rapidly perform computations on an extremely large amount of data. Graphics processing units (GPUs), or massively parallel computing devices with high memory bandwidth, are designed to handle such big data by using thousands…
Light-Activated, Single-Ion Catalyst Breaks Down Carbon Dioxide
A team of scientists has discovered a single-site, visible-light-activated catalyst that converts carbon dioxide (CO2) into “building block” molecules that could be used for creating useful chemicals. The discovery opens the possibility of using sunlight to turn a greenhouse gas into hydrocarbon fuels. The scientists used the National Synchrotron Light Source II, a U.S. Department…
Scientists Produce 3-D Chemical Maps of Single Bacteria
Scientists at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)—a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory—have used ultrabright x-rays to image single bacteria with higher spatial resolution than ever before. Their work, published in Scientific Reports, demonstrates an x-ray imaging technique, called x-ray fluorescence microscopy (XRF), as an effective approach to produce…
Light Detected in a Different Dimension
Scientists from the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN)—a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory—have dramatically improved the response of graphene to light through self-assembling wire-like nanostructures that conduct electricity. The improvement could pave the way for the development of graphene-based detectors that can quickly sense light at…
Software Framework Designed to Accelerate Drug Discovery Wins IEEE International Scalable Computing Challenge
Solutions to many real-world scientific and engineering problems—from improving weather models and designing new energy materials to understanding how the universe formed—require applications that can scale to a very large size and high performance. Each year, through its International Scalable Computing Challenge (SCALE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) recognizes a project that…
Understanding Light-Induced Electrical Current in Atomically Thin Nanomaterials
Scientists at the Center for Functional Nanomaterials (CFN) — a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science User Facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory — have used an optoelectronic imaging technique to study the electronic behavior of atomically thin nanomaterials exposed to light. Combined with nanoscale optical imaging, this scanning photocurrent microscopy technique provides a…
Energy Flowing Through Vibrations Spotted in Superconducting Crystals
Manipulating the flow of energy through superconductors could radically transform technology, perhaps leading to applications such as ultra-fast, highly efficient quantum computers. But these subtle dynamics — including heat dispersion — play out with absurd speed across dizzying subatomic structures. Now, scientists have tracked never-before-seen interactions between electrons and the crystal lattice structure of copper-oxide…
Fresh Pathways for Self-Assembled Nanostructures
One way that scientists control the structure of materials at the nanoscale — where features are a few to several hundred nanometers (nm) — is by using “self-assembly,” in which molecules are designed such that they spontaneously come together to form a desired structure or pattern. Self-assembly is a powerful approach to controlling order at…
Graphene Nanosheets Turn CO2 into Usable Energy
Imagine if carbon dioxide (CO2) could easily be converted into usable energy. Every time you breathe or drive a motor vehicle, you would produce a key ingredient for generating fuels. Like photosynthesis in plants, we could turn CO2 into molecules that are essential for day-to-day life. Now, scientists are one step closer. Researchers at the…
Nanoscale Patterns Self-Assemble to Create Next-Gen Materials
The ability to quickly generate ultra-small, well-ordered nanopatterns over large areas on material surfaces is critical to the fabrication of next-generation technologies in many industries, from electronics and computing to energy and medicine. For example, patterned media, in which data are stored in periodic arrays of magnetic pillars or bars, could significantly improve the storage…
Controllable Pores Lead to Creation of New Material
What do your skin, the clothes you wear, and the soil you stand on have in common? They are all porous substances. Like a sponge, their surfaces are covered with tiny holes that allow liquids and gasses to pass through. Porous materials are widespread throughout our world, and those with nanoscale pores — called mesoporous…
Nanoscience Makes Glass Invisible
If you have ever watched television in anything but total darkness, used a computer while sitting underneath overhead lighting or near a window, or taken a photo outside on a sunny day with your smartphone, you have experienced a major nuisance of modern display screens: glare. Most of today’s electronics devices are equipped with glass…
Making Glass Invisible
If you have ever watched television in anything but total darkness, used a computer while sitting underneath overhead lighting or near a window, or taken a photo outside on a sunny day with your smartphone, you have experienced a major nuisance of modern display screens: glare. Most of today’s electronics devices are equipped with glass…
Hybrid Material Glows Like Jellyfish
Groundbreaking Catalyst Speeds Up Artificial Photosynthesis
Chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory have designed a new catalyst that speeds up the rate of a key step in “artificial photosynthesis” — an effort to mimic how plants, algae, and some bacteria harness sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide into energy-rich fuels. This step — called water oxidation…
Scientists Design Promising New Cathode for Sodium-based Batteries
Scientists have designed a new type of cathode that could make the mass production of sodium batteries more feasible. Batteries based on plentiful and low-cost sodium are of great interest to both scientists and industry as they could facilitate a more cost-efficient production process for grid-scale energy storage systems, consumer electronics and electric vehicles. The…
Studying Argon Gas Trapped in Two-Dimensional Array of Tiny “Cages”
X-Ray Study Reveals Way To Control Molecular Vibrations That Transmit Heat
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed a new way to track dynamic molecular features in soft materials, including the high-frequency molecular vibrations that transmit waves of heat, sound, and other forms of energy. Controlling these vibrational waves in soft materials such as polymers or liquid crystal compounds could…
“Wearable” Brain Scanner Inspired by Rat Helmets
Patients undergoing a positron emission tomography (PET) scan in today’s bulky, donut-shaped machines must lie completely still. Because of this, scientists cannot use the scanners to unearth links between movement and brain activity. What goes on up there when we nod in agreement or shake hands? How are the brains of people struggling to walk…
Scientists Demonstrate New Real-Time Technique For Studying Ionic Liquids At Electrode Interfaces
Ionic liquids—salts made by combining positively charged molecules (cations) and negatively charged molecules (anions) that are liquid at relatively low temperatures, often below room temperature—are increasingly being investigated for uses in batteries, supercapacitors, and transistors. Their unique physical and chemical properties, including good ionic conductivity, low flammability and volatility, and high thermal stability, make them…