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Energy sciences RSS feed

One of the most urgent challenges of our time is discovering how to generate the energy and products we need sustainably, without compromising the well-being of future generations by depleting limited resources or accelerating climate change. SLAC pursues this goal on many levels.

Studies of atomic-level processes

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The White House announced $50 million in funding for ‘Battery500’, a five year effort, as part of a package of initiatives to accelerate adoption...

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Now the startup, Lumeras LLC, has a viable commercial product, and scientists have a new tool for studying the behavior of complex materials.

Lumeras founder Andrew Merriam, left, and SLAC/Stanford Professor Zhi-Xun Shen with a tabletop laser the company developed
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Yi Cui and colleagues have developed new ways to improve hydrogen production and rechargeable zinc batteries.

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Taken at SLAC, microscopic footage of exploding liquids will give researchers more control over experiments at X-ray lasers.

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Many technologies rely upon nanomaterials that can absorb or release atoms quickly and repeatedly. New work provides a first look inside these phase-changing nanoparticles.

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Adding pressure could improve the performance of solar cells made of perovskites, a promising photovoltaic material.

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Scientists have used X-rays to observe exactly how silver electrical contacts form during manufacturing of solar modules.

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Wrapping silicon anode particles in custom-fit graphene cages could solve two major obstacles to using silicon in high-capacity lithium ion batteries.

Illustration of silicon particles with and without graphene cages
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SLAC and Stanford scientists discovered that a single layer of tiny diamonds increases an electron gun’s emission 13,000 fold. Potential applications include electron microscopes...

Nick Melosh holds a model of a diamondoid
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Researchers at SLAC have found a simple new way to study very delicate biological samples – like proteins at work in photosynthesis and components...

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SLAC, Stanford scientists discover that bombarding and stretching a catalyst opens holes on its surface and makes it much more reactive. Potential applications include...

Illustration of a catalyst being bombarded with argon atoms to create holes where chemical reactions can take place.
Press Release

A team led by SLAC scientists combined powerful magnetic pulses with some of the brightest X-rays on the planet to discover a surprising 3-D...

Image - In this artistic rendering, a magnetic pulse (right) and X-ray laser light (left) converge on a superconductor material to study the behavior of its electrons. (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)