News By Location

Researchers have made the first direct observation of how hydrogen atoms in water molecules tug and push neighboring water molecules when they are excited with laser light.

Scientists at Berkeley Lab and UC Berkeley have taken the clearest picture yet of electronic particles that make up a mysterious magnetic state called quantum spin liquid (QSL). The achievement could facilitate the development of superfast quantum computers and energy-efficient superconductors. The scientists are the first to capture an image of how electrons in a QSL decompose into spin-like particles called spinons and charge-like particles called chargons.

Mountain watersheds provide 60 to 90% of water resources worldwide, but there is still much that scientists don’t know about the physical processes and interactions that affect hydrology in these ecosystems. Now a team of U.S. Department of Energy scientists led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) aims to plug that gap, with an ambitious campaign to collect a vast array of measurements that will allow scientists to better understand the future of water in the West.

Mathematicians at Berkeley Lab's Center for Advanced Mathematics for Energy Research Applications have developed an algorithm to decipher the rotational dynamics of twisting particles in large complex systems from the X-ray scattering patterns observed in X-ray photon correlation spectroscopy experiments.

Berkeley Lab Science Snapshots August 2021: COVID antibody discovery, efficient thermoelectric system, low-cost battery testing

Naked RNA molecules are too floppy for high-res 3D imaging, but a system developed at SLAC and Stanford fixes that. It reveals detailed RNA structures from a pond scum critter and COVID-19 virus.

Scientists at Stanford University and the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory reported today that they have made a new catalyst that works with either heat or electricity. Based on nickel atoms, the catalyst accelerates a reaction for turning carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide – the first step in making fuels and useful chemicals from CO2.

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory have demonstrated that they can use machine learning to optimize the performance of particle accelerators by teaching the algorithms the basic physics principles behind accelerator operations – no prior data needed.

A paper published July 28 in Nature Reviews Physics highlights the growing adoption of autonomous discovery as a way to enhance data collection and analysis for research conducted at experimental facilities. Berkeley Lab's CAMERA organization has been at the forefront of this multi-year, multinational effort, which initially focused on synchrotron beamline research but is rapidly expanding into other scientific fields.

The agreement, announced today, will make it easier for researchers to change their names and claim work from all stages of their careers. It specifically addresses the administrative and emotional difficulties some transgender researchers have experienced when requesting such name changes.