science wire

Memory effect now also found in lithium-ion batteries
Media Releases Energy and Environment Lithium-ion batteries are high performance energy storage devices used in many commercial electronic appliances. Certainly, they can store a large amount of energy in a relatively small volume. They have also previously been widely believed to exhibit no memory effect.

X-ray Laser: A novel tool for structural studies of nano-particles
Media Releases SwissFEL Matter and Material Development of analysis method for X-ray laser scattering data. Prominent among the planned applications of X-ray free electron laser facilities, such as the future SwissFEL at the Paul Scherrer Institute, PSI, are structural studies of complex nano-particles, down to the scale of individual bio-molecules.

Observing Engine Oil Beneath Metal
Media Releases Matter and Material Research Using Neutrons PSI scientists reveal how lubricant oil disperses in a functioning clutch Lubricating oil is essential for engines.

Computed tomography provides real-time 3D pictures showing how oil and water flow in porous rock
Media Releases For the first time, experiments using computed tomography have allowed scientists to observe in 3D the flow of oil and water in real rock on an unprecedented scale. The new approach trailed and the information gathered by the experiments contribute to an improved understanding of multiphase flow and transport in porous media.

A glimpse inside the control centres of cell communication
Media Releases Researchers detect characteristic constructional features in a family of sensors that process signals in the human body and control physiological processes. The cells within the human body continually communicate with one another in order to fulfil their various tasks. For that purpose, they are equipped with sensors with which they receive signals from their environment.

Joint venture in the bioenergy and resource efficiency sector: PSI and FHNW establish joint institute
Media Releases Energy and Environment Renewable Energies The Institute of Biomass and Resource Efficiency (IBRE) was founded by the two institutions, the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) and the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland FHNW, at the start of 2013.

Superconductors surprise with intriguing properties
Media Releases Matter and Material Research Using Synchrotron Light PSI-Scientists demonstrate: Magnetic interactions are of fundamental importance for iron-based high-temperature superconductors For a long time, scientists and engineers have longed for a material that would conduct electricity at room temperature without any losses.

Focussed construction expertise for the SwissFEL
Media Releases SwissFEL SwissFEL Construction The joint venture “EquiFEL Suisse”, a consortium of three well-established Swiss companies, has been awarded the contract as general contr

Imaging fluctuations with X-ray microscopy
Media Releases X-rays allow an inside look at structures that cannot be imaged using visible light. They are used to investigate nanoscale structures of objects as varied as single cells or magnetic storage media. Yet, high-resolution images impose extreme constraints on both the X ray microscope and the samples under investigation.

Magnetic nano-chessboard puts itself together
Media Releases Microand Nanotechnology Materials Research Matter and Material Research Using Synchrotron Light Researchers switch the quantum properties of magnetic molecules Researchers from

Proton size puzzle reinforced!
Media Releases Particle Physics Research Using Muons Large Scale Facilities Matter and Material International team of scientists confirms surprisingly small proton radius with laser spectroscopy of exotic hydrogen. The initial results puzzled the world three years ago: the size of the proton (to be precise, its charge radius), measured in exotic hydrogen, in which the electron orbiting the nucleus is replaced by a negatively charged muon, yielded a value significantly smaller than the one from previous investigations of regular hydrogen or electron-proton-scattering.

The weak side of the proton
Media Releases Matter and Material Research Using Muons Particle Physics Muon experiment at the Paul Scherrer Institute confirms predictions of the Standard Model of elementary particles An international research team has determined with a high level of accuracy, how the proton participates in the weak interaction – one of the fundamental forces of nature.

How stabilised cell fibres prevent cancer cell division
Media Releases Human Health Biology Research Using Synchrotron Light Detailed structural information provides the foundation for new drugs Anti-cancer drugs used under the heading of “Chemotherapy” prevent cells from dividing. As the cells in a growing tumour divide more frequently than others, tumour cells in particular are highly damaged by chemotherapeutic drugs.