Top Neutron Science Stories of 2024
December 2, 2024
VENUS rising: A new dawn for AI-powered atomic-scale 3D imaging
The Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory added a new neutron scattering instrument to its powerhouse of discovery at the Spallation Neutron Source, charting new territory for neutron imaging through artificial intelligence. In July, DOE’s Office of Science approved the final commissioning of the Versatile Neutron Imaging Instrument, or VENUS.
Thanks to its cutting-edge features and the world’s most intense pulsed neutron beams, VENUS will help transform research in multiple areas of science. These include energy storage for better batteries, materials science for more efficient building materials, plant physiology for drought-resistant plants and more. Click here for full story.
Neutron scientists wake a sleeping giant after nine-month nap and makeover
What’s the best way to wake a giant after a long nap? “Very carefully, and with a lot of planning,” said John Galambos, smiling. He was the project director for the Proton Power Upgrade project, or PPU, at Oak Ridge National Laboratory until his retirement in July after more than 40 years at the lab. “It was an A-team effort that will benefit science and technology development for decades to come.”
The “giant” Galambos referred to is the Spallation Neutron Source, or SNS, the nation’s leading source of pulsed neutron beams for research, which was recently restarted after nine months of upgrade work. The planned extended outage permitted installing and testing seven additional cryogenic modules and their 28 additional power units, as well as the supporting systems — all designed to increase the power capabilities of the 362-yard-long linear accelerator complex, or linac. Click here for full story.
Neutrons settle 40-year debate on enzyme for cancer drug design
In just two neutron experiments, scientists discovered remarkable details about the function of an enzyme that can aid drug design for aggressive cancers.
The scientists, working at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, used neutron scattering at the Spallation Neutron Source and the High Flux Isotope Reactor to identify exact atomic-scale chemistry in serine hydroxymethyltransferase, or SHMT, a metabolic enzyme necessary for cell division.
Cancer hijacks chemical reactions in the metabolic pathway that involves SHMT and other critical enzymes and turns the entire process into a runaway train, rapidly reproducing cancer cells. Designing an inhibitor to block the enzyme’s function, which falls early in the metabolic pathway, could derail cancer’s attempts to overtake it. The Royal Society of Chemistry published the team’s findings in Chemical Science. Click here for full story.
Neutrons reveal the existence of local symmetry breaking in a Weyl semimetal
The first materials scientists might have been early humans who — through trial-and-error experiments — discovered the first “cutting-edge” technologies. They found that the best arrowheads and other tools could be made from certain types of natural, structural materials, which at the time included stones and animal bones.
Today, many of the most promising new materials are “functionalized,” meaning they are often carefully and methodically designed and synthesized at the atomic scale.
At Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a group of scientists used neutron scattering techniques to investigate a relatively new functional material called a Weyl semimetal. This crystalline material hosts low-energy quasiparticles, which are atomic-scale properties treated as a particle. These Weyl fermions move very quickly in a material and can carry electrical charge at room temperature. Scientists think that Weyl semimetals, if used in future electronics, could allow electricity to flow more efficiently and enable more energy-efficient computers and other electronic devices. Click here for full story.
Corning uses neutrons to reveal how ‘atomic rings’ help predict glass performance
Glass is being used in a wider range of high-performance applications, including those for consumers and industry, military and aerospace electronics, coatings and optics. Because of the extreme precision demanded for use in products such as mobile phones and jet aircraft, glass substrates must not change their shape during the manufacturing process.
Corning Incorporated, a manufacturer of innovative glass, ceramics and related materials, invests tremendous resources into studying the stability of different types of glass. Recently, Corning researchers found that understanding the stability of the rings of atoms in glass materials can help them predict the performance of glass products. This capability is important because the most widely used glass is silicate glass, which consists of different sizes of atomic rings connected in three dimensions.
Conducting neutron scattering experiments at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, ORNL and Corning scientists discovered that as the number of smaller, less-stable atomic rings in a glass increases, the instability, or liquid fragility, of the glass also increases. The results of the neutron experiments, published in Nature Communications, reveal a clear correlation between the medium-range atomic ring structure of a silicate glass and its liquid fragility. Click here for full story.
Studying fungi’s ‘weak link’ to fight global rise in deadly fungal infections
A group of scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory have conducted neutron scattering research to reveal key information about fungus cell membranes that could aid in developing new antifungal treatments.
The number of reported fungal cases has been slowly but steadily increasing in recent years. According to a study conducted by scientists at the Institute of Molecular Biosciences at the University of Graz in Graz, Austria, a rise in severe fungal infections has resulted in over 150 million cases annually and almost 1.7 million fatalities globally.
The ORNL team focused on ergosterol, a lipid, or fat, found in fungi. Ergosterol is similar to, but less studied than, cholesterol found in animal cells. Click here for full story.
Neutrons open window to explore space glass
Thanks to human ingenuity and zero gravity, we reap important benefits from science in space. Consider smart phones with built-in navigation systems and cameras.
Such transformational technologies seem to blend into the rhythm of our everyday lives overnight. But they emerged from years of discoveries and developments of materials that can withstand harsh environments outside our atmosphere. They evolve from decades of laying foundations in basic science to understand how atoms behave in different materials under different conditions.
Building on this past, a global team of researchers set a new benchmark for future experiments making materials in space rather than for space. The team included members from the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge and Argonne national laboratories, Materials Development, Inc., NASA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, Alfred University and the University of New Mexico. Together, they discovered that many kinds of glass, including ones that could be developed for next-generation optical devices, have similar atomic structure and arrangements and can successfully be made in space. Click here for full story.
Neutrons rule the roost for cage-free lithium ions
An international team of scientists found a way to improve battery design that could produce safer, more powerful lithium batteries.
The team used quasi-elastic neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to set the first benchmark, one-nanosecond, or one billionth of a second, for a mixture of lithium salt and an organic polymer electrolyte.
“It all comes down to the study of materials,” said Eugene Mamontov, ORNL Chemical Spectroscopy group leader. “And polymer electrolytes won’t catch fire the way liquid electrolytes do in lithium batteries.” Click here for full story.
"Neutron Nexus’ brings universities, ORNL together to advance science
Oak Ridge National Laboratory has launched its Neutron Nexus pilot program with Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University, or FAMU, and Florida State University, or FSU, through the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. The first program of its kind nationwide, it’s aimed at broadening and diversifying the scientific user community with outreach to universities and colleges to increase collaboration and, ultimately, scientific advancement.
The goals of the ORNL Neutron Nexus program are to foster professional and personal relationships, widen neutron science educational opportunities, plan in-person visits to ORNL for students and faculty, organize on-site presence for remote experiments, increase engagement for technical and scientific support, and set up physical space commitments between ORNL and a regional collection of colleges and universities, including Minority Serving Institutions, or MSIs, community colleges and technical colleges.
The new Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the joint FAMU-FSU college is part of the inaugural Neutron Nexus, as ORNL “brings neutrons” to northern Florida, enabling new users to leverage cutting-edge neutron scattering and imaging capabilities to transform their research. Click here for full story.
Retrofitting robotics increases efficiency of neutron experiments
Robots revolutionized the manufacturing industry by automating assembly lines. Now, more and more, they are being used to expedite the pace of scientific discovery.
Neutron scattering instruments are like giant high-powered microscopes that use beams of neutrons to study materials at the atomic scale. The BIO-SANS instrument, located at Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s High Flux Isotope Reactor, or HFIR, is the latest neutron scattering instrument to be retrofitted with state-of-the-art robotics and custom software. The sophisticated upgrade quadruples the number of samples the instrument can measure automatically and significantly reduces the need for human assistance. BIO-SANS specializes in studying the behavior, shape and size of complex biological materials. Click here for full story.
