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Physical and Life Sciences
Molecules get a boost from metallic carbon nanotubes
A Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) team has found that pure metallic carbon nanotubes are best at transporting molecules. Molecule separations play an ever-increasing role in modern technology from water desalination to harvesting critical materials to high-value chemicals and pharmaceuticals manufacturing. To enhance water and proton transport, LLNL…
Chemical and transportation industries could get a boost with new catalyst coating
Coupling electrochemical conversion of the greenhouse gas CO2 with renewable electricity sources — such as solar and wind — promises green production of high-demand chemicals and transportation fuels. Carbon dioxide coupling products such as ethylene, ethanol and acetic acid are particularly useful as feedstocks for the chemical industry and powering vehicles. While…
Meet LLNL interns: Fitting in and standing out
Each year, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) hosts hundreds of interns across the Laboratory’s directorates. These interns gain hands-on experience in professions they want to explore in an engaging environment. As aspiring early career professionals, interns have the opportunity to work with their mentors at the Lab and dive into projects that will help…
Probing carbon capture, atom-by-atom
A team of scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has developed a machine-learning model to gain an atomic-level understanding of CO2 capture in amine-based sorbents. This innovative approach promises to enhance the efficiency of direct air capture (DAC) technologies, which are crucial for reducing the excessive amounts of CO2 already present in the…
Confined water gets electric
When water gets inside nanopores with sizes below 10 nanometers, new physics emerge: new phases of ice were observed and ultrafast proton transport was measured. Confined water also plays a role in biology, where aquaporins cross cellular membranes to allow specific transport of water and other small molecules through nanometer-scale channels. However, this field lacks a…
Unveiling Bennu asteroid samples
Now at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) lies a piece of ancient history. Very ancient history. The material, at just 120 milligrams, will provide information about the early solar system, planetary formation, and potentially, even ingredients for life on ancient Earth. LLNL scientists recently received and will analyze samples from the asteroid Bennu that will…
It’s all in the accounting
Natural ecosystems can be used to offset manmade CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions that we add to the atmosphere, but the accounting needs to be right for carbon offset policies to be effective. For years, it’s been suspected that forest inventory and, more recently, biometeorological methods bias the carbon sequestration equation by potentially miscounting the…
Livermore’s research involvement in 23-year-old cold case
When local law enforcement are unable to identify skeletal remains, they may seek out external resources and capabilities like those at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (CAMS). That’s exactly what happened in 2007 when police from Newfoundland, Canada, were six years into an investigation with nothing but dead ends…
LLNL researchers uncover key to resolving long-standing ICF hohlraum drive deficit
A team of researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) has made advancements in understanding and resolving the long-standing "drive-deficit" problem in indirect-drive inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments. This discovery could pave the way for more accurate predictions and improved performance in fusion experiments at the National Ignition Facility…
Zebra stripes of material interfaces
Pattern formation and self-assembly are fundamental to many natural and technological phenomena spanning various fields of science—from physics and biology to chemistry and materials science. These processes involve the emergence of organized periodic structures in systems due to interactions at different scales. Oftentimes, very simple interactions can lead to complex and…
Unravelling the chemistry of heavy elements
Molecular compounds with heavy elements, like americium, curium and others can now be synthesized in a streamlined and efficient way thanks to a new technique developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers. The new pathway can help scientists perform serial chemistry with radioactive elements and could be used to speed up R&D for nuclear waste…
Two LLNL physicists honored for international collaboration
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) physicists Hye-Sook Park and George Swadling, along with Anna Grassi of France’s Sorbonne University and former Lawrence Fellow Frederico Fiuza of Portugal’s Técnico Lisboa, received the 2024 Lev D. Landau and Lyman Spitzer Jr. Award for Outstanding Contributions to Plasma Physics. The award is jointly sponsored by the Plasma…
Nano-confinement may be key to improving hydrogen production
Researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have discovered a new mechanism that can boost the efficiency of hydrogen production through water splitting. This research, published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, was featured on the journal cover and provides new insights into the behavior of water reactivity and proton transfer under extreme…
Lawrence Livermore celebrates employees with 50-plus years of service
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently honored a unique cohort of Laboratory employees: those who have worked at the Lab for more than 50 years, including those who will reach this milestone by the end of the year. The first-of-its-kind ceremony recognized the group’s incredible contributions over decades of commitment to the Lab’s missions. “It is amazing…
Advancements in Z-pinch fusion: New insights from plasma pressure profiles
Scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) have reported advancements in understanding plasma pressure profiles within flow-stabilized Z-pinch fusion, a candidate for achieving net gain fusion energy in a compact device. In collaboration with the University of California San Diego (UCSD), the University of Washington, Sandia National Laboratories and…
LLNL honors 23 as Distinguished Members of Technical Staff
Twenty-three LLNL researchers have been named Distinguished Members of Technical Staff (DMTS) for their extraordinary scientific and technical contributions, as acknowledged by their professional peers and the broader scientific community. As distinguished citizens of the Laboratory and their scientific areas of specialization, DMTS honorees have a sustained history of…
Designing magnets with tunable properties using deep ensembles
Perovskite oxides are gaining significant attention for use in next-generation magnetic and ferroelectric devices due to their exceptional charge transport properties and the opportunity to tune the charge, spin, lattice, and orbital degrees of freedom. Interfaces between perovskite oxides exhibit unconventional magnetic exchange switching behavior, offering a pathway for…
The drive to break a swimming record
Five-time Olympic trials competitor Brandon Fischer knows how to persevere. As one of the oldest competitors in this year’s Olympic trials, the Lawrence Livermore Natonal Laboratory mechanical technologist at the Jupiter Laser Facility broke the 35-39 Masters World Record in the 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke events. Fischer’s first foray into the water was in the …
LLNL gamma-ray sensor has the best resolution
It’s official. An instrument designed and built by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) researchers is the highest-resolution gamma ray sensor that has ever flown in space. The Livermore high-purity germanium (HPGe) gamma ray sensor is an essential part of a larger gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) built in collaboration with researchers from Johns Hopkins Applied…
Surface vs. subsurface groundwater contamination at legacy oil site
The ability to identify the source of oilfield groundwater contamination, such as surface releases, wastewater injection, or subsurface well leakage, is critical in selecting proper remedial actions. For example, contamination from historical operations at the land surface can be remediated to prevent off-site migration and the contamination of the local aquifer. However,…
