A new microscopy method developed by an ORNL-led team has four movable probing tips, is sensitive to the spin of moving electrons and produces high-resolution results. Using this approach, they observed the spin behavior of electrons on the surface of a quantum material. Credit: Saban Hus and An-Ping Li/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy

A new method that precisely measures the mysterious behavior and magnetic properties of electrons flowing across the surface of quantum materials could open a path to next-generation electronics. Silicon-based semiconductors rely on the controlled electrical current responsible for powering electronics. These semiconductors can only access the electrons’ charge for energy, but electrons do more than carry a charge...

This image shows V1247 Orionis, a young, hot star surrounded by a dynamic ring of gas and dust, known as a circumstellar disc. The disc can be seen in two parts: a clearly defined central ring of matter and a more delicate crescent structure located further out. Credit: Stefan Kraus

The quest to discover how planets found in the far reaches of the universe are born has taken a new, crucial twist. A new study by an international team of scientists, led by Stefan Kraus from the University of Exeter, has given a fascinating new insight into one of the most respected theories of how planets are formed. Young stars start out with a massive disk of gas and dust that over time, astronomers think, either diffuses away or coalesces into planets and asteroids.

However, scientists are still searching...

This shows the synthetic purple membrane assembly developed by Elena Rozhkova and fellow Argonne researchers. The assembly, which includes nanodiscs, titanium dioxide and platinum nanoparticles, can transform sunlight into hydrogen fuel. Credit: Argonne National Laboratory

A new way has been found to produce solar fuels by developing “synthetic purple membranes.” These membranes involve an assembly of lipid nanodiscs, man-made proteins, and semiconducting nanoparticles that, when taken together, can transform sunlight into hydrogen fuel...

Sun-like star Kronos shows signs of having ingested 15 Earth masses worth of rocky planets, prompting Princeton astronomers to nickname it for the Titan who ate his young. This artist’s rendering of the diverse rocky planets in our galaxy hints at what Kronos’s planets might have looked like before the star enveloped them. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Hurt (SSC-Caltech)

Sun-like star Kronos shows signs of having ingested 15 Earth masses worth of rocky planets, prompting astronomers to name it after the Titan who ate his children. ‘Kronos’ is enhanced in metals and other rock-forming elements but not in volatiles, prompting a team to conclude that it absorbed as much as 15 Earth masses worth of rocky planets. Its twin, ‘Krios,’ does not show this unusual pattern of enhancement.

In mythology,...