A group of researchers at MIT cooperated with partners at NASA to develop a new concept for a microscope which relies on particles to create high-resolution images. The fact they decided to use neutrons instead electrons allows the neutron-based microscope to probe inside metal objects — such as fuel cells, batteries, and engines, even when… »

Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a process that can be used to convert polyethylene into carbon fiber. Polyethylene is the most common plastic material, with annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons, and it is used for all sorts of packaging. The process is very useful since the… »

Oak Ridge National Laboratory biomedical engineers are perfecting a portable, wearable system to measure walking patterns that can be applied to real-world activities in a variety of settings. They are also developing a low-cost gait analysis system that can be used to analyze whether prosthesis fits the wearer, or if it is aligned correctly without… »

Tension wood, which forms naturally in hardwood trees as a response to bending stress, is known to possess unique features that make it desirable as a bioenergy feedstock. Researchers at the Department of Energy’s BioEnergy Science Center (BESC) have studied that phenomenon in trees which could lead to development of new crops capable to produce… »

A team of researchers, led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL’s) Jun Xu, created a 3D nanocone-based solar cell platform which boosts the light-to-power conversion efficiency of photovoltaics by nearly 80 percent. The technology substantially overcomes the problem of poor transport of charges generated by solar photons, which occur due to defects in bulk materials… »