Neutrons poised to play big role in future scientific advances

The reason: They are the focus of a process called neutron scattering that provides unprecedented ways to study the chemistry of a wide range of important materials, including coal and biological cells, according to a fascinating article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), ACS' weekly newsmagazine.

C&EN Associate Editor Jyllian Kemsley notes that neutrons have properties useful for studying materials. Neutrons are special because they can penetrate deeper into samples than some other probes and can interact with atoms in ways that other particles can't. This gives scientists much more information about the structure and activity of materials than some current tools.

Using neutron scattering, scientists have studied how certain fluids behave under stress, which could lead to improved manufacturing processes and products. The method also has been used by scientists to study biological processes. All three of the neutron user facilities located at government labs in the United States are in various phases of expansion. “With greater knowledge of neutrons' capabilities and increased availability, scientific progress undoubtedly awaits,” the article notes.

ARTICLE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE “Making Use of Neutrons”

This story is available at http://pubs.acs.org/cen/science/88/8808sci1.html

Media Contact

Michael Bernstein EurekAlert!

More Information:

http://www.acs.org

All latest news from the category: Life Sciences and Chemistry

Articles and reports from the Life Sciences and chemistry area deal with applied and basic research into modern biology, chemistry and human medicine.

Valuable information can be found on a range of life sciences fields including bacteriology, biochemistry, bionics, bioinformatics, biophysics, biotechnology, genetics, geobotany, human biology, marine biology, microbiology, molecular biology, cellular biology, zoology, bioinorganic chemistry, microchemistry and environmental chemistry.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors