ISIS Vesuvio Science Highlights

Vesuvio Science Highlights

Our Science Highlight articles cover the diverse research that takes place at our facility. Read all our Science Highlight articles using Vesuvio below:

Tracking carbon capture & utilisation in real time
An international collaboration between academia and industry have designed and successfully tested a new experimental setup for the capture, conversion and utilisation of carbon dioxide.
War leftovers and cancer therapies meet neutron techniques
Toxic leftovers from the world wars were studied alongside cancer therapy techniques on Vesuvio by researchers from Jagiellonian University in Poland
Investigating hydration in ancient egyptian leathers
New research from our ISIS@MACH ITALIA collaboration has uncovered information on the hydration levels in a collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts.
Vesuvio enables comprehensive study of pasta properties
Researchers used an unprecedented combination of experimental techniques to characterise the glass transition temperature of dry rice pasta.
Investigating perovskite ground state structures on Vesuvio
Scientists have used INS to investigate the ground state structure of BaZrO3, a material with the potential for application in a range of different technologies including fuel cells and hydrogen separation membranes.
Building a catalogue of amino acid neutron scattering interactions
Researchers have completed an in-depth characterisation of the thermal neutron cross sections of all twenty amino acids, developing a new model that can be easily applied to other organic materials.
Lower energy neutrons need a different recipe for effective concrete shielding
Industrial users have brought barite-enriched concrete to the VESUVIO beamline to test the effectiveness of its radiation shielding at lower neutron energies
Recreating the deepest point on Earth
Scientists from Rome Tor Vergata and ISIS have used the Vesuvio spectrometer to unravel part of the mystery behind the physical and chemical conditions of the Mariana Trench - one of the most extreme environments in the world.
Testing solar cells for space travel
A group from UCL and ISIS have been testing solar cells made from perovskite materials to see how resilient they are to the neutron irradiation they would be exposed to in space.
Watching hydrogen flip its spin
A conversion that happens inside a hydrogen molecule has been studied with an unprecedented level of detail, giving an insight into how this conversion can be maximised, with implications for neutron sources, engineering and industry.
Testing the robustness of space electronics against more than 100,000 years’ worth of neutrons
Of the many challenges involved in space travel the threat of high energy neutrons may have never crossed your mind. But these subatomic particles can disrupt the electronics that space missions rely on, so we must thoroughly test their impact.
The past, present and future of inelastic neutron scattering
The use of electron-volt neutron spectroscopy in materials research is a growing area of neutron science, capitalizing upon the unique insights provided by epithermal neutrons on the behaviour and properties of an increasing number of complex materials.
Effects of cosmic ray irradiation on organic electronics for aviation
Minimising payload is vital in aviation and space applications, and one option is to replace conventional inorganic electronics with organic-based devices.
Assessing neutron-induced effects on NVIDIA Graphics Processing Units
Neutron radiation can damage graphics processing units (GPUs), so industry is interested in investigating what the effects could be.
Quantum effects explain similar melting points of light and heavy water
Water is a familiar substance. It is vital to life and covers over 70% of the surface of the Earth.
Changes in proton zero-point energy responsible for DNA phase change
A recent experiment using Vesuvio spectrometer, by scientists from the University of Houston, the University of Rome and ISIS, has shown that the zero-point energy change in protons is significant for the transformation of A phase to B phase DNA.
Proton harmonic motion in ice
There is currently great interest in probing the quantum state of the proton in ice.
Conductivity linked to quantum state of the proton in Nafion-like materials
Measurements of proton momentum distributions on VESUVIO on solutions of different NAFION-type materials reveal a link between conductivity and the quantum state of the proton as well as a clear difference from the momentum distributions seen in bulk wate
Water around proteins: the ultrafast motion of protons
Investigating the link between proton tunneling and biological function
Case study: When the chips are down
ISIS is helping aerospace companies tackle the challenge of cosmic radiation and its damaging effect on microchips in aircraft.