ORNL’s National Neutron Scattering School prepares next generation

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) welcomed 60 graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to its campus for the 2nd annual NNS school

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Neutrons for New Discoveries and Solutions

Breakthroughs in medicine, energy, technology, and industry follow advances in the understanding of materials. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is at the US epicenter for one of the most powerful techniques exploring the nature of materials and energy—neutron scattering.

ORNL hosts two of the world’s most powerful sources of neutrons for research: the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) and the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS). Neutrons have no electrical charge, which allows them to easily and safely pass through a sample, revealing information about the material’s structure and properties.

Neutron scattering is used in many industries—automotive, aerospace, steel, defense, industrial materials, energy storage, data storage, biomedicine, and others—to address the 21st century’s major scientific challenges.

Discoveries fueled by neutron research at ORNL help scientists answer big science questions and spur countless innovations such as stronger glass for mobile devices, drugs that more effectively treat diseases, more reliable aircraft and rocket engines, cars with better gas mileage, improved armor for the military, and batteries that are safer, charge faster, and last longer.

3-Source Strategy:
High Flux Isotope Reactor, Spallation Neutron Source, future Second Target Station

High Flux Isotope Reactor

Operating at 85 MW, HFIR provides one of the highest steady-state neutron fluxes of any reactor in the world for materials research.

Operating Status: Reactor is off

Spallation Neutron Source

SNS is the most powerful pulsed neutron source in the world for materials research.

Operating Status: Neutron Production, 1.8MW until 10/13

Second Target Station

ORNL is moving forward with plans for a third neutron source: the Second Target Station (STS) at SNS, to address emerging science challenges.

Neutron instrument selector wheel available to assist potential new users of our world-class facilities

Find the neutron instrument best suited for your experiment and particular area of science from more than 30 world-class instruments at the Spallation Neutron Source and High Flux Isotope Reactor neutron sources at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Announcements & Videos

532

Scientific Publications
in FY25*

1,458

Total Unique Users
in FY25

107,088

Hours of Beamtime
in FY25

1,263

Total Experiments
in FY25

*532 total publications including 463 peer-reviewed journal articles

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