Solar cells get boost from shiny quantum dots
Quantum dot luminescent solar concentrator devices under ultraviolet illumination. LANL image.The superior light-emitting properties of quantum dots can efficiently harvest sunlight and enhance solar energy, according to researchers from Los Alamos National Laboratory, in collaboration with the University of Milan-Bicocca, who say this could lead to development of windows that double as solar panels. (Full Story)
House windows that double as solar panels?
Quantum dots are embedded plastic and capture sunlight to improve solar panel efficiency. LANL illustration.A house window that doubles as a solar panel could be on the horizon, thanks to recent quantum-dot work. Scientists have demonstrated that superior light-emitting properties of quantum dots can be applied in solar energy by helping more efficiently harvest sunlight.
"The key accomplishment is the demonstration of large-area luminescent solar concentrators that use a new generation of specially engineered quantum dots," said lead researcher Victor Klimov." (Full Story)
Also in R&D Magazine
Los Alamos physicist honored with E.O. Lawrence Award
Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist John Sarrao is being honored by the U.S. Department of Energy with the 2013 Ernest O. Lawrence Award in Condensed Matter and Materials Sciences.
“John Sarrao’s exciting advances in actinide studies exemplify the quality of research performed at Los Alamos National Laboratory,” said Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Charlie McMillan. (Full Story)
Also in the Los Alamos Monitor
Probing metal solidification nondestructively
An x-ray image of aluminum-copper alloy during directional solidification. LANL image.Los Alamos researchers and collaborators have used nondestructive imaging techniques to study the solidification of metal alloy samples. The team used complementary methods of proton radiography at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center and synchrotron x-ray radiography at Argonne National Laboratory to make the measurements. This is the first time that high-energy protons have been used to nondestructively image a large metal sample during melting and solidification. (Full Story)
Scientists verify world’s largest single crystal piece of gold
Scientists confirm a single-crystal piece of gold. LANL image.Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have confirmed a 7.68 oz (217.78 g) piece of gold is in fact a singular crystal increasing its value from around $10,000 to an estimated $1.5 million.
The specimen, the largest single crystal piece of gold in the world, was discovered in Venezuela decades ago, but it is only by using advanced probing instruments that experts can now verify its authenticity. (Full Story)
STEM conference promotes careers for young women
Cimarron High attends the Expanding Your Horizons Conference. Chronicle photo.Speaking at Expanding Your Horizons in Cimarron, Sanna Sevato said five years ago she found a job opportunity at the Los Alamos National Lab, and she has lived there ever since. She describes this as her “dream job.”
This yearly conference is held to make young women more aware of the different career paths that are available in the science, technology, engineering, and math fields. (Full Story)
New shared lab is big opportunity for small biotech startups
Modern flow cytometers were invented at Los Alamos National Laboratory. LANL photo.Funding for the lab came from the city of Santa Fe and the Los Alamos lab and a $1.25 million grant from the federal Economic Development Administration.
The final piece of lab equipment bought for the BioScience Laboratory is an acoustic cytometer developed in part at the Santa Fe Business Incubator by former Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist John Elling. (Full Story)
Also in ABQ Business First
Prioritizing data in the age of exascale
By now, most HPCers and the surrounding community are aware that data movement poses one of the most fundamental challenges to post-petascale computing.Around the world exascale-directed projects are attempting to maximize system speeds while minimizing energy costs. The most expensive operation: data movement. So says James Ahrens of Los Alamos National Laboratory. (Full Story)
Los Alamos guns take aim at material’s mysteries
One of the Lab's many gun systems. LANL image. Los Alamos National Laboratory scientists and technicians conduct thousands of experiments a year, delving into the fundamental nature of everything from supernovas to subatomic particles. One set of instruments used to better understand the fundamental nature of various materials are 10 scientific gun systems that fire various projectiles at high-tech targets. (Watch the video!)
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