June 24, 2020: An international research team led by the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has now presented a new, very precise method of evaluating the behavior of mixtures of different elements under high pressure with the help of X-ray scattering.
June 30, 2020: A team of researchers led by a Johns Hopkins mechanical engineering professor used X-ray measurements and analyses to show that velocity scaling and dispersion in wave transmission is based on particle arrangements and chains of force between them, while reduction of wave intensity is caused mainly from particle arrangements alone.
July 3, 2020: Skoltech researchers, together with their industrial colleagues and academic partners, have cracked a 1960s puzzle about the crystal structure of a superhard tungsten boride that can be extremely useful in various industrial applications, including drilling technology. The research, supported by Gazpromneft Science & Technology Center, was published in the journal Advanced Science.
July 2, 2020: Researchers at South Ural State University have synthesized ceramic material that is suitable for creating pressure, temperature, electric and magnetic field sensors. The material is more environmentally friendly compared to its analogues and belongs to the class of multiferroics. The experiments made it possible to study the features of changes in the crystal structure and physical properties of such materials in phase transitions.
July 13, 2020: Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have conducted the first global assessment into the most promising approaches to end-of-life management for solar photovoltaic (PV) modules.
July 14, 2020: Researchers say they've cracked the code to a cobalt-free high-energy lithium-ion battery, eliminating the cobalt and opening the door to reducing the costs of producing batteries while boosting performance.
July 15, 2020: Research led by the University of Michigan suggests that a new spin on the magnetic compression of plasmas could improve materials science, nuclear fusion research, X-ray generation and laboratory astrophysics. The study shows that a spring-shaped magnetic field reduces the amount of plasma that slips out between the magnetic field lines.
July 15, 2020: In a new report, Vladislav Kamysbayev, and a team of scientists in chemistry, physics and nanoscale materials at the James Franck Institute, the University of Chicago and the Argonne National Laboratory in the U.S. introduced a general strategy to synthesize MXenes. Surface functional groups in two-dimensional (2D) transition-metal carbides can undergo versatile chemical transformations to facilitate a broad class of MXene materials.
July 15, 2020: The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) last week announced the reopening of their completely rebuilt X-ray source. The ring-shaped machine, 844 meters around, generates X-ray beams 100 times brighter than its predecessor and 10 trillion times brighter than medical X-rays.
July 16, 2020: A new study from the University of Missouri demonstrates that a durable coating — made from titanium dioxide — is capable of eliminating foodborne germs, such as salmonella and E. coli, and provides a preventative layer of protection against future cross-contamination on stainless steel food-contact surfaces.
July 16, 2020: Researchers at the Okanagan Polymer Engineering Research and Applications (OPERA) Lab have developed a coating that repels nearly all substances off a surface. Acting like an invisible force field, a new liquid coating being developed by UBC Okanagan researchers may provide an extra layer of protection for front-line workers.
July 16, 2020: By representing the structures of molecules as graphs, scientists built a machine-learning model that can rapidly predict how atoms absorb X-rays—a process that is key to understanding the structural and electronic properties of materials and molecules.
July 17, 2020: The IAEA is launching a new Coordinated Research Project (CRP) to advance our understanding of radiation effects on polymer materials commonly used in medical devices by comparing the effects of gamma, e-beam and X-ray irradiation.
July 17, 2020: New discoveries about the nanostructure of insects, such as the eye of a mosquito, could help engineer enhanced water repellent coatings. Researchers have theorized a coating that mimics the unique nanostructure could improve virus repellent face masks.
