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ORNL Review v18n2 1985.pdf

ORNL Review v18n2
  • State of the Laboratory- 1984: Exploring New Areas. In this updated report based on his February 5, 1985, address to the staff. Postma notes that the Laboratory's return on some investments has been remarkable. Seed money projects have brought about $4 in research funds to ORNL for every $1 invested by the internal Exploratory Studies Program. ORNL research also has helped others save money. For example, Laboratory recommendations on energy options have helped Liberia save up to $20 million annually. ORNL studies of the potential thermal shock problem of commercial nuclear reactors saved electric utilities millions of dollars.
  • Crickets and Coal Liquefaction Research. Several years ago cricket eggs exposed to a chemical under study in the synthetic fuels program hatched crickets with assorted abnormalities such as an extra eye, antenna, or head. The author tells how ORNL toxicologists and analytical chemists determined that certain trace substances cause these teratogenic effects and how they eventually identified a teratogenic compound in these substances.
  • Shedding Light on Molecules and Atoms: Photoelectron Spectroscopy Using Synchrotron Radiation. ORNL researchers using the magic source of synchrotron radiation have helped to usher in a new era of photoelectron spectroscopy called photoelectron dynamics. Recently, use of this method has provided fresh answers to a number of fundamental questions on the electronic structure of small molecules and metal vapors.
  • Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Economic Development. Technical innovators and entrepreneurs are receiving new respectability as a result of a growing need for technical solutions to revitalize the economy. The time has come for East Tennessee to experience new economic development because both the need and capability for innovation and entrepreneurship are present.

Departments

  • Awards and Appointments
  • Take a Number
  • News Notes. Electron microscope for fusion studies arrives; Alvin Weinberg honored; 12,000th neutron- facility experiment performed; ORNL Hydrofracture Facility at crossroads; fish and birds studied in Antarctica; ORNL helps steel industry; Technology Transfer Briefs.
  • Books. A book on nuclear facilities and earthquakes is reviewed.
  • Technical Capsules. DOE to use ORNL earthquake recommendations in nuclear plant seismic standards; ORNL collaborates with Spanish team on design offusion stellarator.