A New Level of Earthquake Understanding
March 3rd, 2015Working at Berkeley Lab’s Advanced Light Source (ALS), researchers studied quartz from the San Andreas Fault at the microscopic scale, the scale at which earthquake-triggering stresses originate. The results could one day lead to a better understanding of earthquake events.
Between Micro and Macro, Berkeley Lab Mathematicians Model Fluids at the Mesoscale
March 5th, 2015When it comes to boiling water—or the phenomenon of applying heat to a liquid until it transitions to a gas—is there anything left for today’s scientists to study? The surprising answer is, yes, quite a bit. How the bubbles form at a surface, how they rise up and join together, what are the surface properties, what happens if the temperature increases slowly versus quickly—while these components might be understood experimentally, the mathematical models for the process of boiling are incomplete.
First Detailed Microscopy Evidence of Bacteria at the Lower Size Limit of Life
February 27th, 2015Scientists have captured the first detailed microscopy images of ultra-small bacteria that are believed to be about as small as life can get. The research was led by scientists from Berkeley Laboratory and UC Berkeley.
First Direct Observation of Carbon Dioxide’s Increasing Greenhouse Effect at the Earth’s Surface
February 25th, 2015Scientists have observed an increase in carbon dioxide’s greenhouse effect at the Earth’s surface for the first time. The researchers, led by Berkeley Lab scientists, measured atmospheric carbon dioxide’s increasing capacity to absorb thermal radiation emitted from the Earth’s surface over an eleven-year period at two locations in North America. They attributed this upward trend to rising CO2 levels from fossil fuel emissions.
Bigger steps: Berkeley Lab researchers develop algorithm to make simulation of ultrafast processes possible
February 17th, 2015Berkeley Lab researchers have developed a new algorithm that makes it easier to produce real-time numerical simulations of ultrafast physical phenomena, such as electrical charge transfer.
Better Batteries from Berkeley Lab’s Work with Industry
February 12th, 2015Until recently, it was often difficult for private industry to take advantage of Berkeley Lab’s resources. That has changed with CalCharge, a unique public-private partnership uniting the California Bay Area’s emerging and established battery technology companies with critical academic and government resources.
Bacterial Armor Holds Clues for Self-Assembling Nanostructures
February 11th, 2015Berkeley Lab researchers at the Molecular Foundry have uncovered key details in the process by which bacterial proteins self-assemble into a protective coating, like chainmail armor. This process can be a model for the self-assembly of 2D and 3D nanostructures.
