Feature Articles

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 18-Jun-2026 23:16 ET (19-Jun-2026 03:16 GMT/UTC)

Argonne is helping communities avoid the climate crosshairs

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory

Scientists at Argonne are addressing the vulnerabilities of infrastructure systems through the lens of climate impacts: They are creating detailed climate maps and adapting them to infrastructure as a way for communities to protect themselves from the effects of climate change.

Imposing Chaos on Magnetic Fields Suppresses Runaway Electrons in a Fusion Plasma

DOE/US Department of Energy

Researchers are using smaller tokamaks and computer models to test approaches for suppressing runaway electrons. This research used measurements and modeling to demonstrate that perturbations to the magnetic field in a tokamak fusion plasma can suppress high-energy runaway electrons. The results could help improve the operation of ITER and other future fusion devices.

Soap study shows the value of global connections during the pandemic

DOE/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Researchers at the University of Leeds deepened their understanding of a synthetic detergent without ever setting foot in the lab where their experiments took place.

Through the looking glass: How a state-of-the-art optics system will make the APS Upgrade possible

DOE/Argonne National Laboratory

The upgraded Advanced Photon Source will need a new optics system, one that is much more precise than the current one. A team of Argonne specialists created the new system, and even had to invent new tools to design and test it.

Scientists see evidence of first-order phase change in nuclear matter

DOE/US Department of Energy

New evidence suggests protons and neutrons go through a “first-order” phase transition to reach their melted state, a soup of quarks and gluons. This is a kind of stop-and-go change in temperature is similar to how ice melts: energy first increases the temperature. The temperature then stays steady while the energy transforms a solid to a liquid. Only when all the molecules are liquid can the temperature increase again.

Setting a scientific foundation for critical materials

DOE/US Department of Energy

Critical materials are essential for many key technologies, including batteries and wind turbines. The Department of Energy is working to reduce the need for them, recycle them, and expand domestic sources of them.

Remembering 9/11: A Legacy of Homeland Security

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

PNNL commemorates 9/11 and reflects on the 20 years of science and technology produced since to protect against threats and make America safer.

Look who’s turning 25

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories

Z, a machine that exceeds the power of all the generating power plants on Earth when it fires, is the guest of honor tomorrow when its former directors come together to celebrate 25 years of the machine's existence. Z produces data that protects the nuclear stockpile, investigates aspects of the stars, and has moved forward humanity's quest for controlled nuclear fusion, a distant dream.

Funder: National Nuclear Security Administration

Riveting technology enables lightweight magnesium fasteners for fuel efficiency

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Rotational Hammer Riveting, developed by PNNL, joins dissimilar materials quickly without preheating rivets. The friction-based riveting enables use of lightweight magnesium rivets and also works on aluminum and speeds manufacturing.

Journal: Journal of Magnesium and Alloys

The magic is gone for neutron number 32

DOE/US Department of Energy

Protons and neutrons orbit atomic nuclei in shells with caps on how many protons or neutrons they can hold. Full shells mean stable, compact nuclei. Physicists call the number of protons or neutrons in a “magic” numbered full shell. New research shows that a previously reported “magicity” for number 32 does not appear in neutron-rich potassium isotopes.