News Releases

Physical Sciences

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 15-Jan-2026 19:11 ET (16-Jan-2026 00:11 GMT/UTC)

Nature-inspired computers are shockingly good at math

DOE/Sandia National Laboratories
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Neuromorphic computers, inspired by the architecture of the human brain, are proving surprisingly adept at solving complex mathematical problems that underpin scientific and engineering challenges.

Journal: Nature Machine Intelligence
Funder: Department of Energy

Unlocking ceramic 3D printing for next-generation chemical reactors

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In collaboration with chemical technology and engineering company Dimensional Energy, scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have integrated binder jet additive manufacturing with an advanced post-processing method to fabricate leak-tight ceramic components, overcoming a key challenge of ceramic additive manufacturing.

Journal: Ceramics International

Carbon fiber boosts dry-processed battery performance

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) researchers have overcome a barrier to using a more affordable, dry process for manufacturing the lithium-ion batteries used in vehicles and electronic devices. The resulting batteries provide greater electricity flow and reduced risk of overheating.

Journal: Journal of Power Sources

Nanofibers yield stronger, tougher carbon fiber composites

DOE/Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have developed an innovative new technique using carbon nanofibers to enhance binding in carbon fiber and other fiber-reinforced polymer composites – an advance likely to improve structural materials for automobiles, airplanes and other applications that require lightweight and strong materials.

Journal: Advanced Functional Materials

Maximal entanglement sheds new light on particle creation

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory and Stony Brook University have shown that particles produced in collimated sprays called jets retain information about their origins in subatomic particle smashups.

Journal: Physical Review Letters
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Study tracks chromium chemistry in irradiated molten salts

DOE/Brookhaven National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Chemists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Brookhaven National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory report that radiation-induced chemical reactions may help mitigate the corrosion of metals in a new type of nuclear reactor cooled by molten salts.

Journal: Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy

Gas injection setup in new fusion system is guided by public-private research

DOE/Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have determined that six gas valves provide the best protection against plasma disruptions in SPARC, a next-generation, experimental fusion system. By refining the setup for the fusion vessel’s massive gas injection system, researchers are ensuring that disruptions — sudden jets of plasma that can damage the fusion vessel’s inner walls — are controlled efficiently, paving the way for safer, more robust fusion power plants.

Journal: Nuclear Fusion
Funder: DOE/US Department of Energy, DOE/US Department of Energy

Moiré than meets the eye

DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Researchers have discovered that phasons, low-temperature quasiparticles found in crystal lattices, enable interlayer excitons to move at very low temperatures, when motion should stop. In addition to contributing to foundational materials science knowledge, this discovery could help improve the stability of quantum technologies, such as using excitons as qubits.

Rising Stars: PPPL researchers honored in 2024 Physics of Plasmas Early Career Collection

DOE/Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

The Physics of Plasmas Early Career Collection will feature journal articles from Frances Kraus, Jason Parisi and Willca Villafana.

Web search formulas offer a first step for protecting critical infrastructure

DOE/Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Scientists are exploring how web search engine technology might also keep the lights on, the water running and the trains moving.

Funder: Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency