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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 ultrafast, ultrabright X-ray pulses of the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) have enabled unprecedented views of a catalyst in action, an important step...

Nilsson science cover
News Feature

Waves of magnetic excitation sweep through this exciting new material whether it’s in superconducting mode or not – another possible clue to how unconventional...

A brightly colored top is seen spinning between two layers of gray, purple and red spheres representing atoms in a nickel oxide superconductor.
Illustration

A muon, center, spins like a top within the atomic lattice of a thin film of superconducting nickelate.

A brightly colored top is seen spinning between two layers of gray, purple and red spheres representing atoms in a nickel oxide superconductor.  The top represents a fundamental particle called a muon.
News Feature

Researchers discover they contain a phase of quantum matter, known as charge density waves, that’s common in other unconventional superconductors. In other ways, though...

Artist's illustration shows quantum states called superconductivity and charge density waves atop an atomic lattice of balls and sticks
News Feature

It’s a significant step in understanding these whirling quasiparticles and putting them to work in future semiconductor technologies.

A beam of light hits a semiconductor material, ejecting an electron (blue) which goes on to partner with a hole (orange) to form a whirling compound particle, the exciton.
News Feature

SLAC’s Matt Garrett and Susan Simpkins talk about tech transfer that brings innovations from the national lab to the people, including advances for medical...

Tech Transfer
News Feature

X-ray laser experiments show that intense light distorts the structure of a thermoelectric material in a unique way, opening a new avenue for controlling...

Illustration shows two ball-and-stick molecules in pink and red separated by a blurred streak representing how the first structure is slightly deformed into the second.
News Feature

The results cap 15 years of detective work aimed at understanding how these materials transition into a superconducting state where they can conduct electricity...

Conceptual illlustration showing a beam of light entering from the right and hitting a material, ejecting a sphere representing an electron
News Feature

Cryo-EM snapshots of the solid-electrolyte interphase, or SEI, reveal its natural swollen state and offer a new approach to lithium-metal battery design.

A battery's liquid electrolyte clings to small holes in a cryo-EM sample holder.
News Feature

Islands of inactive lithium creep like worms to reconnect with their electrodes, restoring a battery’s capacity and lifespan.

Conceptual illustration shows an EKG-like pulse of energy flatlining as it enters a battery, then coming back to life as it exits
News Feature

A better understanding of this process could inform the next generation of artificial photosynthetic systems that produce clean and renewable energy.

water droplets on plant
News Feature

Topological insulators conduct electricity on their surfaces but not through their interiors. SLAC scientists discovered that high harmonic generation produces a unique signature from...

A counterclockwise pattern of swirling arrows This pattern of arrows representing the combined spin and momentum of electrons in the surface layer of a topological insulator