Nuclear Energy News

June 15, 2024

Top Headlines

Pair Plasmas Found in Deep Space Can Now Be Generated in the Lab

June 13, 2024 — Researchers have experimentally generated high-density relativistic electron-positron pair-plasma beams by producing two to three orders of magnitude more pairs than previously ...

Metal Alloys That Can Take the Heat

June 12, 2024 — Complex metal alloys enter a new era of predictive design for aerospace and other high-temperature ...

New Plasma Escape Mechanism Could Protect Fusion Vessels from Excessive Heat

June 11, 2024 — The exhaust heat generated by a fusing plasma in a commercial-scale reactor may not be as damaging to the vessel's innards as once thought, according to new research about escaping plasma ...

AI Approach Elevates Plasma Performance and Stability Across Fusion Devices

June 5, 2024 — Fusion researchers have successfully deployed machine learning methods to suppress harmful plasma edge instabilities without sacrificing plasma ...

Latest Headlines

updated 2:27pm EDT

Wind Farms Are Cheaper Than You Think -- And Could Have Prevented Fukushima, Says Global Review

May 28, 2024 — Offshore wind could have prevented the Fukushima disaster, according to a review of wind ...

Apple Versus Donut: How the Shape of a Tokamak Impacts the Limits of the Edge of the Plasma

May 28, 2024 — A new model for ballooning instabilities in apple-shaped fusion vessels considers the height and width of the plasma's ...

Breakthrough Discovery Uses Engineered Surfaces to Shed Heat

May 24, 2024 — Splash a few drops of water on a hot pan and if the pan is hot enough, the water will sizzle and the droplets of water seem to roll and float, hovering above the surface. The temperature at which ...

Magnetic Imprint on Deconfined Nuclear Matter

May 17, 2024 — Scientists have the first direct evidence that the powerful magnetic fields created in off-center collisions of atomic nuclei induce an electric current in 'deconfined' nuclear matter. The study used ...

Much More Than a World First Image of Radioactive Cesium Atoms

May 15, 2024 — Thirteen years after the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FDNPP), a breakthrough in analysis has permitted a world first: direct imaging of radioactive cesium (Cs) atoms ...

The Case for Sharing Carbon Storage Risk

May 14, 2024 — Even the most optimistic projections for the rapid build-out of solar, wind, and other low-carbon resources acknowledge that coal, natural gas, and other fossil fuels will dominate the world's energy ...

Atomic Nucleus Excited With Laser: A Breakthrough After Decades

Apr. 29, 2024 — For the first time, the state of an atomic nucleus was switched with a laser. For decades, physicists have been looking for such a nuclear transition -- now it has been found. This opens up a new ...

New Nevada Experiments Will Improve Monitoring of Nuclear Explosions

May 2, 2024 — On an October morning in 2023, a chemical explosion detonated in a tunnel under the Nevada desert was the launch of the next set of experiments by the National Nuclear Security Administration, with ...

Researchers Advance Detection of Gravitational Waves to Study Collisions of Neutron Stars and Black Holes

Apr. 26, 2024 — Researchers co-led a study that will improve the detection of gravitational waves--ripples in space and ...

Major Milestone Reached for Key Weapons Component

Apr. 23, 2024 — Scientists have completed a crucial weapons component development milestone, prior to full rate ...

US Public Opinion on Social Media Is Warming to Nuclear Energy, but Concerns Remain

June 5, 2024 — The U.S. public displays more positive than negative sentiment toward nuclear energy but concerns remain about waste, cost and safety, according to an analysis of 300,000 posts on social ...

New Beta-Decay Measurements in Mirror Nuclei Pin Down the Weak Nuclear Force

Apr. 19, 2024 — Scientists have gained insights into the weak nuclear force from new, more sensitive studies of the beta decays of the 'mirror' nuclei lithium-8 and boron-8. The weak nuclear force drives ...

Creating an Island Paradise in a Fusion Reactor

Apr. 16, 2024 — In their ongoing quest to develop a range of methods for managing plasma so it can be used to generate electricity in a process known as fusion, researchers have shown how two old methods can be ...

With Inspiration from 'Tetris,' Researchers Develop a Better Radiation Detector

Apr. 11, 2024 — A new detector system based on the game 'Tetris' could enable inexpensive, accurate radiation detectors for monitoring nuclear ...

Researchers Discover 'Neutronic Molecules'

Apr. 3, 2024 — Researchers have discovered 'neutronic' molecules, in which neutrons can be made to cling to quantum dots, held just by the strong force. The finding may lead to new tools for probing ...

Nuclear Fusion, Lithium and the Tokamak: Adding Just Enough Fuel to the Fire

Mar. 28, 2024 — Building upon recent findings showing the promise of coating the inner surface of the vessel containing a fusion plasma in liquid lithium, researchers have determined the maximum density of uncharged ...

Plasma Oscillations Propel Breakthroughs in Fusion Energy

Mar. 15, 2024 — Researchers have discovered a new class of plasma oscillations -- the back-and-forth, wave-like movement of electrons and ions. The research paves the way for improved particle accelerators and ...

AI for Astrophysics: Algorithms Help Chart the Origins of Heavy Elements

Mar. 13, 2024 — The origin of heavy elements in our universe is theorized to be the result of neutron star collisions, which produce conditions hot and dense enough for free neutrons to merge with atomic nuclei and ...

Preventing Magnet Meltdowns Before They Can Start

Mar. 11, 2024 — High-temperature superconductor magnets have the potential to lower the costs of operating particle accelerators and enable powerful new technologies like fusion reactors. But quenches -- the sudden, ...

One Way to Improve a Fusion Reaction: Use Weaknesses as Strengths

Mar. 5, 2024 — Scientists are embracing imperfection, using less-than-ideal magnetic fields to make the plasma more ...

Laser-Focused Look at Spinning Electrons Shatters World Record for Precision

Feb. 26, 2024 — Nuclear physicists have shattered a nearly 30-year-old record for precision in electron beam polarimetry. The groundbreaking result sets the stage for high-profile experiments that could open the ...

Measuring Neutrons to Reduce Nuclear Waste

Feb. 16, 2024 — Nuclear power is considered one of the ways to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but how to deal with nuclear waste products is a concern. Radioactive waste products can be turned into more stable ...

New Nuclei Can Help Shape Our Understanding of Fundamental Science on Earth and in the Cosmos

Feb. 15, 2024 — In creating five new isotopes, scientists have brought the stars closer to Earth. The isotopes are known as thulium-182, thulium-183, ytterbium-186, ytterbium-187 and ...

Astronomy Observation Instrument Used to Uncover Internal Structure of Atomic Nuclei

Feb. 13, 2024 — Researchers have used equipment originally intended for astronomy observation to capture transformations in the nuclear structure of atomic nuclei, reports a new ...

New Method to More Accurately Spot Underground Nuclear Tests

Feb. 7, 2024 — A more accurate way of identifying underground nuclear tests, including those conducted in secret, has been ...

Scientists Create Effective 'Spark Plug' for Direct-Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion Experiments

Feb. 5, 2024 — Scientists completed several successful attempts to fire 28 kilojoules of laser energy at small capsules filled with deuterium and tritium fuel, causing the capsules to implode and produce a plasma ...

Physicists Develop Highly Robust Time Crystal

Feb. 1, 2024 — Researchers recently succeeded in producing a highly durable time crystal that lived millions of times longer than could be shown in previous experiments. By doing so, they have corroborated an ...

Liquid Lithium on the Walls of a Fusion Device Helps the Plasma Within Maintain a Hot Edge

Jan. 24, 2024 — Emerging research suggests it may be easier to use fusion as a power source if liquid lithium is applied to the internal walls of the device housing the plasma. Past experiments studied solid lithium ...

Gravity Helps Show Strong Force Strength in the Proton

Jan. 23, 2024 — New research conducted by nuclear physicists is using a method that connects theories of gravitation to interactions among the smallest particles of matter. The result is insight into the strong ...

A Non-Proliferation Solution: Using Antineutrinos to Surveil Nuclear Reactors

Jan. 17, 2024 — Antineutrinos generated in nuclear fission can be measured to remotely monitor the operation of nuclear reactors and verify that they are not being used to produce nuclear weapons, report scientists. ...