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2020 News

17 July 2020
Research scientists Shreyas Balachandran (left) and William Starch draw lengths of niobium-tin superconducting wire at the Applied Superconductivity Center at the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory. A new grant of $1.5 million will allow the group to continue this research.

MagLab awarded $1.5 million to develop better superconductors

Grant from the U.S. Department of Energy will further research that will help make the next generation of high-energy particle accelerators.

13 July 2020
Photos of asphalt binder before and after being exposed to water and a solar simulator for a week.

Sun, rain transform asphalt binder into potentially toxic compounds

MagLab researchers show that exposure to sun and water causes thousands of chemicals to leach from roads into the environment.

6 July 2020
A monolayer semiconductor is found to be a close-to-ideal platform for fractional quantum Hall states - a quantum liquid that emerges under large perpendicular magnetic fields. The image illustrates monolayer WSe2 hosting "composite fermions", a quasi-particle that forms due to the strong interactions between electrons and is responsible for the sequence of fractional quantum Hall states.

2D semiconductors found to be close-to-ideal fractional Quantum Hall platform

Columbia researchers first to discover a quantum fluid—fractional quantum Hall states, one of the most delicate phases of matter—in a monolayer 2D semiconductor; finding could provide a unique test platform for future applications in quantum computing.

26 June 2020
The scientists examined hundreds of basalt samples taken along the global ridges that contain recycled ancient oceanic crust in varying amounts. "Depleted" segments of the ridge received less than "normal" amounts of recycled crust, while "enriched" segments contained a larger proportion of recycled crust.

Geochemists solve mystery of Earth's vanishing crust

Using a novel technique, researchers uncover secrets hidden deep below the surface of our planet.

15 May 2020
The water wire (depicted by the red and white molecules) inside the helical gramicidin A protein can orient in two ways. At equilibrium, the transition between the two orientations is shown in this study to be a million times slower than previously believed, suggesting a much stronger interaction between the water wire and gramicidin A.

"Water wires" may play bigger role in cell functions

New insights challenge current understanding of how ion transport through some cell membranes works.

14 May 2020
Florida State chemist Robert Schurko is the new director of the National MagLab’s NMR/MRI Facility in Tallahassee.

New NMR director takes the helm

As head of nuclear magnetic resonance at the MagLab's Tallahassee headquarters, Rob Schurko hopes to expand capabilities and build new magnets.

30 March 2020
The team's numerical modelling predicted the effects of a rotating drop of Bose-Einstein condensate (the lower shape) merging with a static drop (above it). A corkscrew-like structure reflecting the evolving condensate density emerged, showing an entirely different mechanism of transferring rotation than exists in classical fluids.

"Superfluids" may merge via corkscrew-like mechanism

A model predicts that, unlike the eddies found in classical fluids, a corkscrew-shaped structure transfers rotation from one drop of quantum fluid to another, shedding light on the behaviour of dark matter and neutron stars.

16 March 2020
A CORC cable.

New Magnet Design Aces First Test

The successful test of concept shows that the novel design, using a high-temperature superconductor, could help power tomorrow's particle accelerators, fusion machines and research magnets.

14 February 2020
A science fan uses a solar telescope at the MagLab’s 2019 Open House.

Explore the Science of Time at Silver Anniversary Open House

On Feb. 22, the lab opens its doors once again, inviting science lovers of all ages to do hands-on activities related to space, time and all things fun and nerdy.

23 January 2020
This image of a rat brain, generated with the MagLab's 21-tesla ICR mass spectrometer, reveals the distribution of three specific lipids.

MagLab scientists capture molecular maps of animal tissue with unprecedented detail

Enabled by a world-record instrument, the images convey vast amounts of data that could be useful in health and pharmaceutical research.