Neutron Sciences NewsThe ORNL Neutron Sciences Directorate operates the world's highest flux reactor-based neutron source (the High Flux Isotope Reactor) and the world's most intense pulsed accelerator-based neutron source (the Spallation Neutron Source).Guinness Book of World Records Acknowledges World's Most Powerful Pulsed Neutron Spallation Source (Azonano.com, 34)- (Found August 15, 2008 ) The Department of Energy's Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge National Laboratory has been confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's most powerful pulsed neutron spallation source.The SNS recently ramped up beam power to more than 300 kilowatts, producing 4.8 x 10e 16 neutrons per second. The SNS is currently sending neutrons to five instruments of an eventual 24, and its first article has been accepted in Physical Review Letters and is expected to be published soon....http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=6002 HFIR due to restart; an assist from Argonne (Knoxville News Sentinel, 325)- (Found August 15, 2008 ) Late this afternoon, Kelly Beierschmitt, ORNL's director of nuclear operations, said the High Flux Isotope Reactor will be restarted Wednesday morning as scheduled. The reactor has been shut down since early March for refueling and maintenance. "We got a tremendous amount of work done on the facilities and (research) instruments," Beierschmitt said. One big deal was replacing a neutron detector on the SANS (small-angle neutron scattering) instrument, he said. Apparently, the reactor's intense...http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/munger/2008/03/hfir_due_to_restart_wednesday.html Under the Neutron Microscope (MSNBC, 41)- (Found August 15, 2008 ) Technically speaking, the $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source is the world's most powerful accelerator-based source of neutrons - but the people who run the sprawling facility prefer to think of it as one of the highest-resolution microscopes ever built. "You can think of this as a better, and better, and better digital camera," operations manager Frank Kornegay said last week, during a tour of the 80-acre site at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. "You can actually see...http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/01/848185.aspx Merick & Company Wins Highest Engineering Industry Honors at Ceremonies in Washinigton, D.C. (Business Wire, 528)- (Found August 15, 2008 ) In the Special Projects category, Merrick received the Grand Award for the Spallation Neutron Source Target Hot Cell project based in Oak Ridge, TN. Merrick provided detailed design work on a first-of-a-kind and one-of-a-kind shielded hot cell and associated support systems. The Spallation Neutron Source Target Hot Cell facility generates the world's most powerful pulsed neutron beams, which are critical in the advancement of material science and..http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080528006... Getting warmer: UT Knoxville researchers uncover information on new superconductors (EurekAlert), 528)- (Found August 15, 2008 ) The world of physics is on fire about a new kind of superconductor, and a group of researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory led by physicist Pengcheng Dai are in the middle of the heat. The excitement centers around a new class of high-temperature superconductors -- initially discovered in February and March by Japanese and Chinese researchers -- and the effort to learn more about them. Dai and his team published major new findings...http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-05/uota-gwu052708.php GE Energy to Market SNS-developed Detector Electronics System (EurekAlert), 63)- (Found August 15, 2008 ) GE Energy, manufacturer of Reuter Stokes radiation detection equipment, has signed a technology transfer agreement to market the electronics and software associated with the SNS 8Pack neutron detector system, an award-winning design for a system of sensitive neutron detectors developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The SNS 8Pack is a compact neutron detection system that was developed for the Department of Energy's Spallation Neutron Source, a record-setting neutron science facility located.http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/541384/ Mid-year money for Spallation Neutron Source (Knoxville News Sentinel), 79)- (Found August 15, 2008 ) The Dept. of Energy confirmed last week that about $2 milliion of the Office of Science's supplemental appropriation would go to the SNS. According to ORNL's neutron boss, Ian Anderson, that money "will be used to ensure that we don't have to curtail operations due to the rising utility costs within a flat-funding scenario. This just covers more or less our projected increased utility costs."http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/munger/2008/07/midyear_money_for_spallation_n.html Busy, busy summer at ORNL reactor (Knoxville News Sentinel), 716)- (Found August 15, 2008 ) The High Flux Isotope Reactor was restarted this a.m. following an outage for maintenance and refueling, and it achieved full power (85 megawatts) sometime around noon. Ron Crone, the division director, said the research programs at HFIR are going gang-busters, with scientific users flocking to Oak Ridge to perform neutron-scattering experiments. The goal for the entire year was to have 225 users at the reactor, and by the end of the last fuel cycle that number had already reached...http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/munger/2008/07/oak_ridge_reactor_up_and_runni.html The Really good Stuff is on the left (Knoxville News Sentinel), 728)- (Found August 15, 2008 ) Concrete is concrete, right Oh, no, no, no. When constructing the Spallation Neutron Source, the Oak Ridge folks imported some really special aggregate materials from Brazil to make the concrete walls super protective in high-rad areas of the Target Building. And it wasn't cheap, either. Frank Kornegay, operations manager at SNS, said the heavy-duty concrete with aggregate from Brazil cost about $1,200 per cubic yard delivered at the time of the construction. That compared with $59 a yard.http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/munger/2008/07/the_good_stuff_is_on_the_left.html Laboratory collaborates with Oak Ridge on spallation experient (Los Alamos Daily News Bulletin, 731)- (Found August 15, 2008 ) Los Alamos Neutron Science Center researchers are collaborating with colleagues from Oak Ridge National Laboratory to study and mitigate target erosion problems that could affect the success of Oak Ridge's Spallation Neutron Source. "It's a very nice example of labs working together on an experiment," said Steve Wender of Neutron and Nuclear Science (LANSCE-NS). Oak Ridge scientist Bernie Riemer agreed. "This is a wonderful collaboration," he said. The SNS is the world's most powerful...http://www.lanl.gov/news/index.php/fuseaction/nb.story/story_id/14057/nb_date/2008-07-31 |