As a Department of Energy funded facility, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is required to follow federal guidance for determining site access. We may need additional time to process site visit passes. Deadline for registration with the tour is 19 July 2024. If you would like to attend the tour but are not ready to register for the conference, send your name, email address and nationality to moeckbl@ornl.gov.
High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR)
Completed in 1965 and operating at 85 megawatts, HFIR’s steady-state neutron beam is the strongest reactor-based neutron source in the United States. The thermal and cold neutrons produced by HFIR are used to study physics, chemistry, materials science, engineering, and biology. The intense neutron flux, constant power density, and constant-length fuel cycles are used by more than 500 researchers each year for neutron scattering research into the fundamental properties of condensed matter.
The neutron scattering research facilities at HFIR contain a world-class collection of instruments used for fundamental and applied research on the structure and dynamics of matter. HFIR is also used for medical, industrial, and research isotope production; research on severe neutron damage to materials; and neutron activation analysis to examine trace elements in the environment. Additionally, the building houses a gamma irradiation facility that uses spent fuel assemblies and can provide high gamma doses for studies of the effects of radiation on materials.
Recent discoveries made possible by neutrons at HFIR are helping to unravel the secrets of materials and energy. This new knowledge also leads to improvements in every day products like solar cells, hard drives, drugs, and bio-fuels. In addition, HFIRs capabilities help solve crimes and isotopes produced at HFIR are fueling the discovery of new elements and space flight.
Neutrons have led to the discovery and improvement of many new materials and technologies:
Source: High Flux Isotope Reactor | Neutron Science at ORNL
Spallation Neutron Source (SNS)
SNS produces neutrons with an accelerator-based system that delivers short (microsecond) proton pulses to a steel target filled with liquid mercury through a process called spallation. Those neutrons are then directed toward state-of-the-art instruments that provide a variety of capabilities to researchers across a broad range of disciplines, such as physics, chemistry, biology, and materials science.
SNS is available to researchers around the world with varying degrees of experience. Submitted research proposals are reviewed by independent scientists from within the neutron scattering community to ensure the most promising ones are chosen.
With its more intense, brighter source of neutrons and world-class instrument suite, SNS provides the neutron scattering community with unprecedented research opportunities. The facility allows for measurements of greater sensitivity, higher speed, higher resolution, and in more complex sample environments than have been possible at existing neutron facilities.
These details help lead to advances that can lower the cost, improve the efficiency, and improve the safety of products we use every day like: