Oak Ridge X-10: Neutron Sciences

US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

The X-10 Graphite Reactor is located on the secure grounds of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). In-person visitation is only authorized via guided tours.

Text down the right side of this panel reads,“ORNL is the world’s foremost complex for neutron scattering science. It is home to two of the world’s most intense neutron sources, the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) and the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). Both facilities probe materials with extremely bright beams of neutrons to reveal their structure and dynamics. HFIR also produces radioisotopes that are used for such things as medical imaging. Imagine an electric car that goes hundreds of miles without charging. Neutron beams are used to look inside batteries as they charge and discharge, with a goal of increasing their storage capacity and lifetime. Neutron research will improve the efficiency of thermoelectric materials, which can convert exhaust heat in a car back into electricity to recharge the battery. Neutrons are ideal for examining soft materials such as proteins. They are revealing how proteins form, providing clues to the origin of devastating neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s. SNS and HFIR are key players in developing high-temperature superconductors – materials that conduct electricity without resistance.”

At the top of the panel are two images of bird’s eye views of facilities. At left is a long, multistory building shaped like two arcs, back to back. At right is an aerial view of several white buildings with woods on either side.

Down the left side of the panel are a number of images relating to the neutron studies, such as a person in an MRI machine, an electric car, images of the body, the brain and lungs, and a photograph of an electric substation.