Filter News
Area of Research
- (-) Isotopes (11)
- Advanced Manufacturing (5)
- Biology and Environment (18)
- Building Technologies (1)
- Clean Energy (34)
- Computational Biology (1)
- Computational Engineering (2)
- Computer Science (1)
- Fusion and Fission (2)
- Materials (7)
- Materials for Computing (11)
- Mathematics (1)
- Neutron Science (7)
- Supercomputing (11)
Media Contacts
![ORNL welder Devin Johnson uses a new orbital welder to seal a hollow target in a glovebox in the lab’s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center. The new welder makes a clean seam on the metal target, eliminating the need for hand-finishing afterward. Credit: Carlos Jones/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy](/sites/default/files/styles/list_page_thumbnail/public/2021-01/2021-P00359.jpg?h=8f9cfe54&itok=_g8_FpZZ)
A better way of welding targets for Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s plutonium-238 production has sped up the process and improved consistency and efficiency. This advancement will ultimately benefit the lab’s goal to make enough Pu-238 – the isotope that powers NASA’s deep space missions – to yield 1.5 kilograms of plutonium oxide annually by 2026.