Finding order in disorder demonstrates a new state of matter
Physicists have identified a new state of matter whose structural order operates by rules more aligned with quantum mechanics than standard thermodynamic theory. In a classical material called artificial spin ice, which in certain phases appears disordered, the material is actually ordered, but in a “topological” form.
"Our research shows for the first time that classical systems such as artificial spin ice can be designed to demonstrate topological ordered phases, which previously have been found only in quantum conditions," said Los Alamos National Laboratory physicist Cristiano Nisoli. (Full Story)
Also from Science Alert
Light 'relaxes' crystal to boost solar cell efficiency
Constant illumination was found to relax the lattice of a perovskite-like material, Rice/LANL image.Some materials are like people. Let them relax in the sun for a little while and they perform a lot better. A collaboration led by Rice University and Los Alamos National Laboratory found that to be the case with a perovskite compound touted as an efficient material to collect sunlight and convert it into energy.
The researchers led by Aditya Mohite, a staff scientist at Los Alamos who will soon become a professor at Rice; Wanyi Nie, also a staff scientist at Los Alamos, and lead author and Rice graduate student Hsinhan (Dave) Tsai discovered that constant illumination relaxes strain in perovskite's crystal lattice, allowing it to uniformly expand in all directions. (Full Story)
Erin Quinn. LANL photo.Whenever an instrument is sent into space, worries abound. As if the launch were not risky enough (with the threat of explosion on the launch pad or the extreme vibrations shaking parts loose), a host of other threats emerge once the spacecraft safely reaches orbit.
That is where software developers like Erin Quinn come in. Quinn works in Space Data Science and Systems group on the ground support equipment for the Space and Atmospheric Burst Reporting System (SABRS), one of Los Alamos National Laboratory’s satellite-borne treaty-monitoring payloads. (Full Story)
Site of El Niño origin affects carbon cycle response
Time lags for individual El Niño events. ERL Image.Researchers in the US have found that El Niños originating in the eastern tropical Pacific take longer to generate a rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations than those initiated in the central tropical Pacific.
The results should enable scientists to better constrain the effects of El Niños in climate models.
"The time lag can be used to form a reasonable hypothesis about the way vegetation reacts to the El Niño effects," said Petr Chylek of Los Alamos National Laboratory, US. (Full Story)
Report: NM could nearly triple solar jobs
Testing the UbiQD solar window, from UbiQD.With the right strategies, New Mexico could become a bustling hub for developing and building novel, cutting-edge solar technologies, according to a new study by the California-based American Jobs Project.
Ubiquitous Quantum Dots is using technology from Los Alamos National Laboratory to create an electric-generating coating for windows that can channel photons from sunlight to PV cells attached to window frames. (Full Story)
NSF ‘supermagnet’ laboratory receives $184 million renewal
100T magnet at Los Alamos, LANL photo.The National Science Foundation has renewed support for the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory with $184 million over the next five years, a funding increase of more than 9 percent over the last funding period.
At its Los Alamos facility the lab has created a magnet that can repeatedly produce a magnetic field of 100 Tesla -- 2 million times stronger than the Earth’s. The magnet is the only one of its kind that can produce fields of that strength without exploding. (Full Story)
To subscribe to Los Alamos Press Highlights, please e-mail listmanager@lanl.gov and include the words subscribe PressHighlights in the body of your email message; to unsubscribe, include unsubscribe PressHighlights.
Please visit us at www.lanl.gov
