The Beauty of Science: A Gallery

Energy in Motion

art of science image

(Image credit: Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory | U.S. Dept. of Energy)


Here, a simulation shows how energy flows through a superconducting material's structure. A high-temperature superconducting material is a material that conducts electricity without resistance at a relatively high temperature. Such materials have the potential to be applied to energy-efficient technologies.

Pointillistic Picture

art of science image

(Image credit: Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory | U.S. Dept. of Energy)


A current map shows the colorful pattern of bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3), an inorganic chemical compound. Many of the scientific images created at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory — which is the U.S. Department of Energy's largest science and energy laboratory — have won national honors.

Titanium Tough

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(Image credit: Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory | U.S. Dept. of Energy)


Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers created a fully functional lightweight robotic hand, shown here holding a complex impeller, also known as a compressor wheel. Both of the pieces were made from titanium powder.

Psychedelic Worlds

art of science image

(Image credit: Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory | U.S. Dept. of Energy)


This image shows a series of simulations of the distribution of water vapor in the Earth's climate system. Each globe shows the simulated monthly average distribution of the world's total water vapor.

Energy Map

art of science image

(Image credit: Courtesy of Oak Ridge National Laboratory | U.S. Dept. of Energy)


The Oak Ridge National Laboratory's inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy (IETS) was used to map the movement of phonon energy.

Remy Melina was a staff writer for Live Science from 2010 to 2012. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Hofstra University where she graduated with honors.