Filter News
Area of Research
News Topics
- (-) Advanced Reactors (2)
- (-) Clean Water (8)
- (-) Composites (6)
- (-) Cybersecurity (5)
- (-) Decarbonization (7)
- (-) Exascale Computing (2)
- (-) Space Exploration (4)
- 3-D Printing/Advanced Manufacturing (26)
- Artificial Intelligence (7)
- Big Data (5)
- Bioenergy (13)
- Biology (23)
- Biomedical (10)
- Biotechnology (5)
- Buildings (13)
- Chemical Sciences (7)
- Climate Change (11)
- Computer Science (30)
- Coronavirus (10)
- Critical Materials (4)
- Energy Storage (22)
- Environment (39)
- Frontier (4)
- Fusion (8)
- Grid (11)
- High-Performance Computing (19)
- Isotopes (12)
- ITER (4)
- Machine Learning (1)
- Materials (32)
- Materials Science (22)
- Mathematics (1)
- Mercury (3)
- Microscopy (10)
- Nanotechnology (10)
- National Security (7)
- Net Zero (1)
- Neutron Science (18)
- Nuclear Energy (6)
- Physics (3)
- Polymers (5)
- Quantum Computing (5)
- Quantum Science (12)
- Security (3)
- Statistics (1)
- Summit (9)
- Sustainable Energy (35)
- Transportation (21)
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.