Origin of High-Temperature Superconductivity in Copper-Oxide Compound

Antifogging Short

Split-screen video captures water droplets condensing on the cylindrical nanotexture (left) and nanocone texture (right) for 30 seconds. Neighboring droplets on the nanocone texture combine and spontaneously jump off, but those on the nanocylinder texture become stuck. Credit: David Quéré, ... more

How Magnetic Moments in MnO Fluctuate at Different Temperatures

An animation showing how the magnetic moments in manganese oxide (MnO) fluctuate at different temperatures. The orderly antiparallel alignment of the Mn ions is maintained at lower temperatures. At higher temperatures, this long-range order disappears, but short-range correlations persist u ... more

Tuning electrode surfaces to optimize solar fuel production

Scientists have demonstrated that modifying the topmost layer of atoms on the surface of electrodes can have a remarkable impact on the activity of solar water splitting. As they reported in Nature Energy on Feb. 18, bismuth vanadate electrodes with more bismuth on the surface (relative to ... more

Making high-temperature superconductivity disappear to understand its origin

When there are several processes going on at once, establishing cause-and-effect relationships is difficult. This scenario holds true for a class of high-temperature superconductors known as the cuprates. Discovered nearly 35 years ago, these copper-oxygen compounds can conduct electricity ... more

New function for plant enzyme could lead to green chemistry

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have discovered a new function in a plant enzyme that could have implications for the design of new chemical catalysts. The enzyme catalyzes, or initiates, one of the cornerstone chemical reactions needed to synthe ... more