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Archive for the ‘nuclear energy’ category

Nov 19, 2024

Hydrogen Mapping Breakthrough Could Transform Energy Storage and Technology

Posted by in categories: mapping, nuclear energy, particle physics

Researchers have developed a method to precisely locate hydrogen atoms within nanofilams, a breakthrough with significant implications for superconductivity and other material properties.

Their study, employing nuclear reaction analysis and ion channeling, revealed how hydrogen and its isotopes are distributed within titanium nanofilms, offering insights into tuning the material properties for various applications including hydrogen storage and catalysis.

Impact of hydrogen on material properties.

Nov 19, 2024

H.E.S.S. Observatory Detects Unprecedented High-Energy Cosmic Rays

Posted by in categories: cosmology, nuclear energy, particle physics

Researchers use the H.E.S.S. Observatory to overcome the challenge of detecting high-energy cosmic-ray electrons and positrons, revealing their likely origins close to our solar system through advanced data analysis techniques.

The Universe is filled with extreme environments, from the coldest regions to the most energetic sources imaginable. These conditions give rise to extraordinary objects like supernova remnants, pulsars, and active galactic nuclei, which emit charged particles and gamma rays with energies far exceeding those produced by the nuclear fusion processes in stars—by several orders of magnitude.

Challenges in Cosmic Ray Detection.

Nov 19, 2024

Adjusting accelerators with help from machine learning

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, particle physics, robotics/AI

Banks of computer screens stacked two and three high line the walls. The screens are covered with numbers and graphs that are unintelligible to an untrained eye. But they tell a story to the operators staffing the particle accelerator control room. The numbers describe how the accelerator is speeding up tiny particles to smash into targets or other particles.

However, even the best operator can’t fully track the miniscule shifts over time that affect the accelerator’s machinery. Scientists are investigating how to use computers to make the tiny adjustments necessary to keep particle accelerators running at their best.

Researchers use accelerators to better understand materials and the particles that make them up. Chemists and biologists use them to study ultra-fast processes like photosynthesis. Nuclear and high energy physicists smash together protons and other particles to learn more about the building blocks of our universe.

Nov 18, 2024

Gov. Abbott unveils nuclear energy initiative aimed at strengthening Texas grid

Posted by in categories: education, employment, nuclear energy

The plan includes seven major recommendations.

The first is creating a new state authority to oversee nuclear development. They’ll also establish a single point of contact to help companies navigate the complex permitting process.

Education is also a big focus of the plan. It calls for partnerships with community colleges and universities to train workers for these high-tech jobs.

Nov 17, 2024

The Future of Fusion

Posted by in categories: futurism, nuclear energy

How can the United States foster a robust commercialization ecosystem for fusion energy?

Nov 17, 2024

Fusion breakthrough can enhance plasma confinement, reactor design

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, particle physics

CIEMAT scientists advance fusion energy for efficient reactors.


For decades, scientists have been working to develop reactors that can achieve fusion to meet the increasing need for clean and limitless energy.

The success of such experiments depends on multiple key factors, including optimized magnetic fields that could display enhanced fusion plasma confinement.

Continue reading “Fusion breakthrough can enhance plasma confinement, reactor design” »

Nov 16, 2024

New family of optimized magnetic fields could display enhanced fusion plasma confinement

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, particle physics

Physicists have been trying to design fusion reactors, technologies that can generate energy via nuclear fusion processes, for decades. The successful realization of fusion reactors relies on the ability to effectively confine charged particles with magnetic fields, as this in turn enables the control of high-energy plasma.

Nov 11, 2024

Theoretical predictions provide a first peek at nuclear shape transitions

Posted by in categories: nuclear energy, physics

It turns out that the evolution of the most violent collisions between nuclei, as they are studied at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, depends on the initial conditions, namely the geometry and shape of the colliding nuclei, which are in their ground state. More surprisingly, this insight also allows us to determine properties of the colliding nuclei that cannot easily be studied by other methods.

The researchers have predicted how the shape changes and fluctuations of the colliding nuclei will influence the outcome of extreme high-energy conditions. This paves the way for further studies which will yield a better understanding of the dynamic behavior of nuclei. An article on the results has been published in Physical Review Letters.

The predictions are theoretical but based on an experiment at the world’s leading physics research center, CERN, Switzerland.

Nov 10, 2024

Beyond Tungsten: Scientists Unveil Game-Changing Materials for Fusion Reactors

Posted by in categories: materials, nuclear energy

Can theory and computation methods help the search for the best divertor material and thus contribute to making fusion energy a reality?

Exploring nuclear fusion as a clean energy source reveals a critical need for advanced plasma-facing materials. MARVEL lab researchers identified materials that might withstand fusion’s extreme conditions and proposed alternatives to tungsten, the current choice.

Nuclear fusion and the material challenge.

Nov 9, 2024

What exactly happens when the nucleus of an atom splits in two? Science just found out

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, nuclear energy, science

Nuclear fission has powered our world and medical advancements for decades, yet some of its secrets have remained elusive.

One of the biggest puzzles? What exactly happens when an atom’s nucleus splits apart at its “neck rupture” point.

Aurel Bulgac, a physics professor at the University of Washington, has been delving into this very question. He and his team set out to simulate the intricate particle dance during this critical moment of fission.

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