My Facility to be on TV this week...

[IROC]

I just found out that an upcoming episode of "Modern Marvels" on the History Channel is going to have a segment on the facility where I work (ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source). The show is called "Secret Underground". According to the History Channel website:

"Just below the surface, there's a whole different America hidden from public view. Take a revealing look at the America under our feet, from secret military installations, and experimental farms to tunnel networks and neutron lasers."

The show is supposed to air this Friday at 9:00 pm Eastern, I believe...

[Zeke]

Not so secret now, huh?

[kaisen]

Is it hosted by Jesse Ventura?

[IROC]

Originally Posted by milt

Not so secret now, huh?

Actually, it wasn't secret to begin with - the general public just doesn't seem to care much about some of the really cool science that is going on in the US these days...

[Green 912]

Originally Posted by IROC

Actually, it wasn't secret to begin with - the general public just doesn't seem to care much about some of the really cool science that is going on in the US these days...

Sadly very true.
Fast to opinion but slow on substantial facts other than about sports and famous entertainers.

[Pazuzu]

Originally Posted by IROC

Actually, it wasn't secret to begin with - the general public just doesn't seem to care much about some of the really cool science that is going on in the US these days...

No way!
Wait, you mean like the fact the no one seems to know or care that we have officially entered the Second Space Era today?

[Oh Haha]

Cool. I dig Modern Marvels.




BTW-Did you wear a Pelican shirt in any of the shots?

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by Oh Haha

Cool. I dig Modern Marvels.




BTW-Did you wear a Pelican shirt in any of the shots?

Yeah, free cool collar if you get on TV with a pelican shirt.

[BeyGon]

You need Geraldo Rivera to announce finding it like he did Al Capone's Vault.

[porsche4life]

I'll have to be somewhere with history channel! I love science stuff.


Any chance of a private tour if anyone was in the area?

[Jagshund]

Originally Posted by IROC

The History Channel is going to have a segment on the facility where I work (ORNL's Spallation Neutron Source).

Ahhhh! Neutrons! They're trying to destroy the universe!!

[IROC]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

Any chance of a private tour if anyone was in the area?

It's certainly possible. Nothing is classified here, but there are some hoops to jump through from a security and badging standpoint.

A couple of crappy cell phone pictures from today:

Radioactive waste shipment loaded in a cask:




Torquing bolts to 950 ft-lbs...

[BK911]

Seems we are colleagues. Or secret colleagues. I work at SNS too.

[RWebb]

Originally Posted by IROC

Actually, it wasn't secret to begin with - the general public just doesn't seem to care much about some of the really cool science that is going on in the US these days...

'cuz they are not educated... (maybe they never were; just excited about us out-doing the Sputnickers)


anyway, CONGRATS!

wish I had cable now...

I do have a couple of questions tho

[1] do you guys use neutrons to cause spallation?

[2] will they be showing the secret closet where you guys dress up in your lab coats, and take the 10 voluptuous female lab assistants in there and remove their lab coats so you can "do prodigious... service" to save the human race with "women... selected for their sexual characteristics which [had] to be of a highly stimulating nature?"

[Flieger]

Cool, I will be watching for sure. I love science stuff.

[BK911]

They use protons to cause the spallation. Protons can be controled by magnetic fields.

How the Spallation Neutron Source Works - ORNL Neutron Sciences

[IROC]

Originally Posted by RWebb

[1] do you guys use neutrons to cause spallation?

Like bk mentions, we use a proton beam to create neutrons by accelerating the protons to ~ 90% of the speed of light and then focusing them into a beam of approximately 20mm x 70mm and directing them onto a liquid mercury target. Lots of protons. Like 10E14 protons per pulse at a rate of 60 pulses per second. Mercury - with it's high molecular weight - has plenty of extra neutrons to "knock off" when struck by the proton beam. Mercury also has the nice property of being a liquid at room temperature, so we can carry the heat energy deposited by the proton beam away. The spalled neutrons are then moderated, reflected and focused down beam lines where scientists use them to discern details of atomic structures in a similar (only better due to the neutral charge of neutrons) method to x-ray diffraction.

Downsides - the proton beam degrades the materials in the target facility by displacing atoms within the molecular structure causing radiation-induced embrittlement among other things, so my job is to replace these screaming-hot items as they reach their limits. We have to ship these items off for burial, hence the photos above of our current shipment. Another downside is that highly radioactive (thousands of R) mercury is nasty stuff.

All in all, though, an extremely cool place to work. Absolute cutting edge of accelerator and pulsed neutron technology.

[Aurel]

Tell the truth: this underground facility is used to develop alien technology, and there are greys living at the lower levels.

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by IROC

Like bk mentions, we use a proton beam to create neutrons by accelerating the protons to ~ 90% of the speed of light and then focusing them into a beam of approximately 20mm x 70mm and directing them onto a liquid mercury target. Lots of protons. Like 10E14 protons per pulse at a rate of 60 pulses per second. Mercury - with it's high molecular weight - has plenty of extra neutrons to "knock off" when struck by the proton beam. Mercury also has the nice property of being a liquid at room temperature, so we can carry the heat energy deposited by the proton beam away. The spalled neutrons are then moderated, reflected and focused down beam lines where scientists use them to discern details of atomic structures in a similar (only better due to the neutral charge of neutrons) method to x-ray diffraction.

Downsides - the proton beam degrades the materials in the target facility by displacing atoms within the molecular structure causing radiation-induced embrittlement among other things, so my job is to replace these screaming-hot items as they reach their limits. We have to ship these items off for burial, hence the photos above of our current shipment. Another downside is that highly radioactive (thousands of R) mercury is nasty stuff.

All in all, though, an extremely cool place to work. Absolute cutting edge of accelerator and pulsed neutron technology.

Thank you for the description. Please forgive me for asking more questions.

1) What is "spallation"? Is it like the pitting on bearings and cam lobes?

2) How can you focus/direct a beam of neutrons?

[IROC]

Originally Posted by Flieger

Thank you for the description. Please forgive me for asking more questions.

1) What is "spallation"? Is it like the pitting on bearings and cam lobes?

Imagine hitting a rock with a hammer. Those little pieces of rock flying off is basically the "spallation" process. We use the energy (and mass) of the protons to knock the neutrons off of the mercury molecules. Another method of producing neutrons is in a reactor, but that has it's own set of issues so the spallation process is becoming pretty popular.

2) How can you focus/direct a beam of neutrons?

That's actually the hard part as - in reality - many of the neutrons have a mind of their own and don't go where we want them. Clustered right around the target module are sets of beryllium reflectors and moderators (some liquid hydrogen) which guide the neutrons down "beam guides" to instruments situated many meters from the target. One of my jobs in the next couple of months is to replace a portion of the beam guide that is installed in the core vessel itelf. I'll take pictures.