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    "story_id": "mp-2026-07-15-002",
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    "headline": "A Lens Brings Every Neutron Color Home",
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    "dek": "PSI researchers combined nickel diffraction rings and diamond refractive structures to focus a broad neutron spectrum into one sharp, magnified image.",
    "summary": "PSI researchers combined nickel diffraction rings and diamond refractive structures to focus a broad neutron spectrum into one sharp, magnified image.",
    "body_text": "Neutron imaging can see hydrogen and lithium through dense metal, but its weak interaction with matter has also made neutron beams difficult to focus. Paul Scherrer Institute researchers built an achromatic lens that uses concentric nickel rings for diffraction and precisely shaped diamond elements for refraction, bringing multiple neutron wavelengths to the same focal point. In tests, the system resolved details below 20 micrometers and magnified a lithium-ion battery electrode assembly sevenfold while the sample sat six meters from the detector. Longer beamlines may be needed to exploit greater magnification, but the demonstrated lens opens a path to watching processes inside bulky furnaces, cryostats, pressure cells, engines, and batteries.",
    "why_it_matters": "PSI researchers combined nickel diffraction rings and diamond refractive structures to focus a broad neutron spectrum into one sharp, magnified image.",
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    "first_published_at": "2026-07-15T09:00:00.000-04:00",
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    "tags": [
      "neutron imaging",
      "optics",
      "materials",
      "batteries"
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      "source_id": "source-2026-07-15-002",
      "title": "Paul Scherrer Institute: A world-first lens brings neutrons into sharper focus",
      "publisher": "Paul Scherrer Institute",
      "url": "https://www.psi.ch/en/news/media-releases/a-world-first-lens-brings-neutrons-into-sharper-focus",
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      "published_at": "2026-07-13T20:00:00.000-04:00",
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    "title": "A Lens Brings Every Neutron Color Home",
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