Neutron diffraction has proven a valuable tool for materials characterization of engineering materials, specifically for the technique’s merits in residual stress mapping. Neutron diffraction allows for non-destructive spatial characterization of residual stresses in engineering materials with deep penetration, as opposed to x-ray diffraction which can only characterize the surface stress state. The HB2B beamline at HFIR has two decades of history mapping residual stresses in a variety of components and materials.
Quantum spin liquids (QSL) are materials that do not order magnetically down to the lowest temperatures and host exotic excitations. The S = 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet model on the kagome lattice (KAFM) constitutes one of the most promising platforms for QSL due to its geometric frustration. Experiments on the kagome compound herberthsmithite show that it is a QSL, but its nature remains under debate.
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by dementia and memory loss for which no cure or prevention is available. Amyloid toxicity is a result of the non-specific interaction of toxic amyloid oligomers with the plasma membrane.
