PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

ORNL's research reactor revamps veteran neutron scattering tool

2010-10-20
(Press-News.org) OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Oct. 19, 2010 -- The Cold Triple Axis spectrometer, a new addition to Oak Ridge National Laboratory's High Flux Isotope Reactor and a complementary tool to other neutron scattering instruments at ORNL, has entered its commissioning phase.

The CTAX uses "cold" neutrons from the HFIR cold source to study low-energy magnetic excitations in materials. Cold neutrons are slower than their "thermal" neutron counterparts, and thus perfect for probing low-energy dynamics.

The instrument, which moves by way of air pads on an epoxy surface known as the "dance floor," is one of only two of its kind in the United States. Following commissioning, it will be available for users this coming spring.

"Neutrons have unique properties that make them ideally suited to study the complex atomic-scale interactions that govern the macroscopic physical and chemical properties of materials," said Jaime Fernandez-Baca, leader of the Triple Axis group.

The types of materials studied by instruments like CTAX and the new Cold Neutron Chopper Spectrometer (CNCS) at ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) include energy and electronic technology-related materials such as those used in solar cells, data storage, batteries, superconductors and materials with potential applications in electronic devices.

"While the CNCS at SNS provides snapshots of broad ranges of energy and wave vector space, the CTAX at HFIR allows for a very detailed and focused view of small regions of this space," Fernandez-Baca said. "With the information provided by these two types of instruments, we get a more thorough view of the materials being studied, enabling us to design and make novel materials to meet technological challenges."

The original CTAX instrumentation was developed at Brookhaven National Laboratory by a Japanese team as part of the U.S.-Japan Cooperative Neutron Scattering program. DOE's Office of Science funded its relocation and modification for use at ORNL.

CTAX offers better energy and momentum resolution than most of the other neutron scattering instruments, as well as the flexibility to observe materials under a variety of sample environmental conditions like high and low temperatures, high pressures and magnetic and electric fields. The use of polarizing neutrons to study magnetic excitations will also be implemented at CTAX.

As part of the U.S.-Japan agreement 25 percent of time on CTAX will be used by ORNL and Japanese researchers for experiments performed under this collaboration. The greater 75 percent of use will be allocated to general users from university and research institutions.

### ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy's Office of Science.

NOTE TO EDITORS: You may read other press releases from Oak Ridge National Laboratory or learn more about the lab at http://www.ornl.gov/news. Additional information about ORNL is available at the sites below:

Twitter - http://twitter.com/oakridgelabnews

RSS Feeds - http://www.ornl.gov/ornlhome/rss_feeds.shtml

Flickr - http://www.flickr.com/photos/oakridgelab

YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/user/OakRidgeNationalLab

LinkedIn - http://www.linkedin.com/companies/oak-ridge-national-laboratory

Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/Oak.Ridge.National.Laboratory

Image: http://www.ornl.gov/info/press_releases/photos/instrument.jpg

Caption: The Cold Triple Axis spectrometer, now in commissioning at Oak Ridge National Laboratory's High Flux Isotope Reactor, moves by way of air pads on an epoxy surface known as the "dance floor."

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Study: Religious diversity increases in America, yet perceptions of Christian nation intensify

2010-10-20
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - While America continues to become more religiously diverse, the belief that America is a Christian nation is growing more intense, according to research from Purdue University. "America is still predominantly Christian, but it is more diverse than ever," said Jeremy Brooke Straughn, an assistant professor of sociology who studies national identity. "At the same time, many people feel even more strongly that America is a Christian country than they did before the turn of the century. This is especially true for Americans who say they are Christians ...

WSU and ASU professors urge one-way Martian colonization missions

2010-10-20
PULLMAN, Wash. - For the chance to watch the sun rise over Olympus Mons, or maybe take a stroll across the vast plains of the Vastitas Borealis, would you sign on for a one-way flight to Mars? It's a question that gives pause to even Dirk Schulze-Makuch, a Washington State University associate professor, who, with colleague Paul Davies, a physicist and cosmologist from Arizona State University, argues for precisely such a one-way manned mission to Mars in an article published this month in the "Journal of Cosmology." In the article, "To Boldly Go: A One-Way Human Mission ...

10-minute plasma treatment improves organic memory performance

2010-10-20
Washington, D.C. (October 19, 2010) -- In its current early stage of development, digital memory circuits that use organic elements instead of silicon or other inorganic materials have a seemingly endless list of variables and options to consider, test, and optimize. While organic electronics are immediately attractive for their potential for extremely low cost and flexible substrates, many design aspects that are now taken for granted in the mature silicon-circuit world must be examined anew from the ground up. A group led by Takhee Lee from Korea's Gwangju Institute ...

Get in synch -- or be enslaved by it

2010-10-20
Washington, D.C. (October 19, 2010) -- We talk about synchronization a lot. We synch up; synch our computers; and get in synch. And synchronous behavior underlies many natural systems, events and phenomena. Understanding conditions that cause oscillators -- which are common electronic components that produce a repetitive electronic signal -- to get in synch or fall out of synch, is necessary to achieve the optimal functioning of oscillator networks that underlie many technologies. The transition from synchronization to desynchronization is the subject of a new investigation ...

Brain might be key to leptin's actions against type 1 diabetes, UT Southwestern researchers find

2010-10-20
DALLAS – Oct. 20, 2010 – New findings by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers suggest a novel role for the brain in mediating beneficial actions of the hormone leptin in type 1 diabetes. "Our findings really pave the way for understanding the mechanism by which leptin therapy improves type 1 diabetes," said Dr. Roberto Coppari, assistant professor of internal medicine at UT Southwestern and senior author of the study involving laboratory mice. "Understanding the mechanism is important, because if we can determine how leptin drives these benefits, then we may be ...

Study shows video games highly effective training tools

2010-10-20
DENVER (October 19, 2010) - Long derided as mere entertainment, new research now shows that organizations using video games to train employees end up with smarter, more motivated workers who learn more and forget less. A University of Colorado Denver Business School study found those trained on video games do their jobs better, have higher skills and retain information longer than workers learning in less interactive, more passive environments. "Companies have been designing video games for employees for years but so far it has all been done on a hunch. They suspected ...

Long distance, top secret messages

2010-10-20
WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 – When the military needs to send the key to encrypted data across the world, it can't necessarily rely on today's communication lines, where the message could be covertly intercepted. But physicists at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta are developing a new, more secure way to send such information across far distances, using existing cables and the laws of quantum mechanics. Alex Kuzmich and colleagues have built a critical component of a quantum repeater, a device that allows quantum communications -- such as the encryption keys used ...

Proton therapy safe, effective for early-stage lung cancer patients

2010-10-20
Proton beam therapy is safe and effective and may be superior to other conventional treatments for Stage I inoperable non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, according to a study in the October issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology•Biology•Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer death for men and women, according to the American Cancer Society. The standard treatment for early-stage lung cancer is surgery to remove all or part of the lung, but for patients ...

Study shows black youth are politically involved, disputes other stereotypes

2010-10-20
Many of the assumptions people have about black youth—that they are politically detached and negatively influenced by rap music and videos—are false stereotypes, according to a new University of Chicago study by Prof. Cathy Cohen, based on surveys and conversations with the youth themselves. Black youth say they are politically involved, critical of many messages in rap and skeptical of the idea that the country has entered a post-racial era. They also are socially conservative on political issues such same-sex marriage, said Cohen, the David and Mary Winton Green Professor ...

Insulin sensitivity may explain link between obesity, memory problems

2010-10-20
AUSTIN, Texas — Because of impairments in their insulin sensitivity, obese individuals demonstrate different brain responses than their normal-weight peers while completing a challenging cognitive task, according to new research by psychologists at The University of Texas at Austin. The results provide further evidence that a healthy lifestyle at midlife could lead to a higher quality of life later on, especially as new drugs and treatments allow people to live longer. "The good thing about insulin sensitivity is that it's very modifiable through diet and exercise," ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

CMD-OPT model enables the discovery of a potent and selective RIPK2 inhibitor as preclinical candidate for the treatment of acute liver injury

Melatonin receptor 1a alleviates sleep fragmentation-aggravated testicular injury in T2DM by suppression of TAB1/TAK1 complex through FGFR1

Single-cell RNA sequencing reveals Shen-Bai-Jie-Du decoction retards colorectal tumorigenesis by regulating the TMEM131–TNF signaling pathway-mediated differentiation of immunosuppressive dendritic ce

Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B Volume 15, Issue 7 Publishes

New research expands laser technology

Targeted radiation offers promise in patients with metastasized small cell lung cancer to the brain

A high clinically translatable strategy to anti-aging using hyaluronic acid and silk fibroin co-crosslinked hydrogels as dermal regenerative fillers

Mount Sinai researchers uncover differences in how males and females change their mind when reflecting on past mistakes

CTE and normal aging are difficult to distinguish, new study finds

Molecular arms race: How the genome defends itself against internal enemies

Tiny chip speeds up antibody mapping for faster vaccine design

KTU experts reveal why cultural heritage is important for community unity

More misfolded proteins than previously known may contribute to Alzheimer’s and dementia

“Too much going on”: Autistic adults overwhelmed by non-verbal social cues

What’s driving America’s deep freezes in a warming world?

A key role of brain protein in learning and memory is deciphered by scientists

Heart attacks don’t follow a Hollywood script

Erin M. Schuman wins 2026 Nakasone Award for discovery on neural synapse function and change during formation of memories

Global ocean analysis could replace costly in-situ sound speed profiles in seafloor positioning, study finds

Power in numbers: Small group professional coaching reduces rates of physician burnout by nearly 30%

Carbon capture, utilization, and storage: A comprehensive review of CCUS-EOR

New high-temperature stable dispersed particle gel for enhanced profile control in CCUS applications

State gun laws and firearm-related homicides and suicides

Use of tobacco and cannabis following state-level cannabis legalization

Long-term obesity and biological aging in young adults

Eindhoven University of Technology and JMIR Publications announce unlimited open access publishing agreement

Orphan nuclear receptors in metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease development

A technological breakthrough for ultra-fast and greener AI

Pusan National University researchers identify key barriers hindering data-driven smart manufacturing adoption

Inking heterometallic nanosheets: A scalable breakthrough for coating, electronics, and electrocatalyst applications

[Press-News.org] ORNL's research reactor revamps veteran neutron scattering tool