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The development of radiation detection materials would benefit with greater access to computational models that relate physical traits seen in manufacture with complex energy transitions occurring in the material that control operating performance. However, the HPC requirements behind these models remain beyond the reach of most businesses involved in this small yet vital field impacting National ...

The composition of atmospheric particulate matter (“aerosols”) strongly influences health and environmental impacts, but there exist few time-resolved, long-term records of particle-phase chemical composition due to lack of appropriate monitoring tools. Needed is an instrument that is robust, easy-to-operate, with automated calibrations and data reduction, to provide operationally-inexpensive ...

Redox flow batteries are a promising technology for electrical energy storage for renewable energy sources; however traditional redox flow batteries are limited in their use due to non-uniform pressure drops and mass transfer limitations, as well as high manufacturing costs related to the felt material costs for the electrode and component alignment challenges during manufacturing.General Statemen ...

Considerable progress has been made in developing promising subsystems for muon beam cooling channels to provide the great reduction of emittances required for an Energy-Frontier Muon Collider; but an end-to-end design is lacking. Meanwhile, the recent discovery of a Higgs-like boson has created interest in the high-energy physics community for a Higgs Factory to investigate whether its propertie ...

Measurement of the vertical profile of H2O vapor in the lower atmosphere can provide new understanding of the dynamics of H2O vapor mass transport. Such measurements can improve predictive capability for precipitation forecasts as well as lead to increased understanding of complex feedback mechanisms involving H2O vapor, temperature, radiative balance, and precipitation and therefore are important ...

Nuclear fusion has great potential for supplying global energy needs with a clean, abundant energy source. Advanced superconducting magnets will be used to contain the plasma at the center of the reactor. To operate these magnets, new sensors are needed to monitor the superconductors in real-time to detect the signs that the superconductor may quench (lose superconducting properties), so that corr ...

The power output of the high power lasers used in physics research is limited by the materials available for making gain media. Future increases in power require new and better materials. Operation at high power creates great thermal stresses that can lead to birefringence, thermal lensing or physical damage to the host. Effective cooling and small temperature gradients are critical for achieving ...

The feasibility for fusion as a practical energy source needs to be enhanced significantly by removing some of the restrictions that low-temperature superconductors put on the fusion magnet systems. This can be done by using high-temperature superconductors, allowing for much larger temperature margins, a higher magnet performance and less mechanical degradation during operation. There are curren ...

The laser plasma accelerator (LPA) is a very promising technology for generating gamma rays for the detection of contraband bulk nuclear materials, but is currently limited by the rate at which the beam can be pulsed. Erosion of the capillary plasma channel is the main limiting factor and can be mitigated through the use of artificial diamond to construct the channel. Computational modeling and ...

Current prosthetic feet produce much less peak mechanical power than the able-bodied foot/ankle and release only about half of the mechanical energy generated during gait. This leads to higher energy expenditure among amputees as compared to able-bodied i