News Archive | U.S. DOE Office of Science (SC)

Dark Matter Hunt: LUX Experiment Reaches Critical Phase

An experiment located in the bottom of a gold mine in South Dakota, US, could offer the best chance yet of detecting dark matter.

Arid Areas Absorb Unexpected Amounts of Carbon

Researchers led by a Washington State University biologist have found that arid areas, among the biggest ecosystems on the planet, take up an unexpectedly large amount of carbon as levels of carbon dioxide increase in the atmosphere.

Organic Solar Cells More Efficient With Molecules Face-to-Face

New research from North Carolina State University and UNC-Chapel Hill reveals that energy is transferred more efficiently inside of complex, three-dimensional organic solar cells when the donor molecules align face-on, rather than edge-on, relative to the acceptor.

Astronomers from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Make the Most Precise Measurement Yet of the Expanding Universe

Researchers at Brookhaven and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories contribute to a new view showing the universe just before dark energy should have kicked in.

Self-Assembled Silver Superlattices Create Molecular Machines with Hydrogen-Bond “Hinges” and Moving “Gears”

Researchers from Georgia Tech and the University of Toledo did a combined computational and experimental study of self-assembled silver-based structures known as superlattices has revealed an unusual and unexpected behavior: arrays of gear-like molecular-scale machines that rotate in unison when pressure is applied to them.

Groundbreaking Optical Device Could Enhance Optical Information Processing and Computers

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis have built an optical device that may lead to new and more powerful computers that run faster and cooler.

To Bridge LEDs’ Green Gap, Scientists Think Small…Really Small

Nanostructures half a DNA strand-wide show promise for efficient LEDs.

Researchers Design Trees That Make it Easier to Produce Pulp

Researchers have genetically engineered trees that will be easier to break down to produce paper and biofuel, a breakthrough that will mean using fewer chemicals, less energy and creating fewer environmental pollutants.

'Smart Window' Material May Make Better Batteries

Scientists at SLAC's synchrotron observe 'breathing' layer during battery operation

Persistent Analysis Fills in 50-Year Gap

Researchers analyze data from an experiment conducted at DOE's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility to finally pin down two key characteristics that had never been measured before of an elusive particle, the Lambda(1405).

Ames Lab Researchers Show Polymer-Coated Nanocubes Form Complex Structures

Nanoparticles assembled in new ways hold the promise of a wave of new high-tech materials that could offer high strength, enhanced magnetic properties, light reflectivity or absorption, use as catalysts and much more.

Researchers Gain Insight Into Organic Solar Cell Efficiency

Research from North Carolina State University reveals that organic solar cell efficiency is based upon a delicate balance between the size and purity of the interior layers, or domains. These findings may lead to better designs and improved performance in organic solar cells.