Oak Ridge Today

Scientists seek new physics using ORNL’s intense neutrino source

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Neutrino Experiment at High Flux Isotope Reactor

The High Flux Isotope Reactor, a U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science User Facility that creates continuous neutron beams, is the site of a new neutrino experiment. Yale-led PROSPECT will probe neutrinos formed as a byproduct of radioactive decay processes. (Image credit: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, DOE/Photographer Genevieve Martin)

 

By Dawn Levy

Soon to be deployed at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory is an experiment to explore new physics associated with neutrinos. The Precision Oscillation and Spectrum Experiment, or PROSPECT, is led by Yale University and includes partners from 14 academic and governmental institutions. The DOE High Energy Physics program will support the experiment at the High Flux Isotope Reactor, or HFIR, a DOE Office of Science User Facility at ORNL. The neutrino, the subject of a 2015 Nobel Prize, remains a poorly understood fundamental particle of the Standard Model of particle physics.

These electrically neutral subatomic particles are made in stars and nuclear reactors as a byproduct of radioactive decay processes. They interact with other matter via the weak force, making their detection difficult. As a result of this elusiveness, neutrinos are the subject of many interesting and challenging detection experiments, including PROSPECT.

“Unique capabilities of ORNL will enable us to broaden the understanding of neutrino properties,” said David Dean, director of ORNL’s Physics Division. “The expansion of neutrino experiments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a win for the lab because we have a new scientific focus area, and a win for the scientific community because ORNL has unique neutrino sources that physicists will utilize to explore neutrino science.” [Read more…]

Recognizing Tennessee’s contribution, Tennessine could be name of new chemical element

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ORNL Berkelium-249

Berkelium-249, contained in the greenish fluid in the tip of the vial, was crucial to the experiment that discovered element 117. It was made in the research reactor at DOE’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Note: This post was last updated at 11:45 a.m.

Tennessine is among the names proposed for four new elements. If approved, the name would recognize the contributions of Tennessee research centers—Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Tennessee—in the discovery of one of four new superheavy elements: 113, 115, 117, and 118.

Tennessine (Ts) is proposed for element 117.

The discovery of the four new elements was announced in January, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory played a role in discovering two of them. The elements have been added to the periodic table, filling the seventh row, or period.

Twenty-two milligrams of a very pure synthetic material produced at ORNL were used in the discovery of two of the new chemical elements. [Read more…]

ORNL associate lab director to discuss discovery of elements 115, 117; super-heavy nuclei; ‘island of stability’

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Jim Roberto

Jim Roberto

Jim Roberto, an associate laboratory director at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will discuss the discovery of elements 115 and 117, super-heavy nuclei, and the “island of stability” during a Wednesday evening talk next week.

Roberto, ORNL associate laboratory director for science and technology partnerships, will give the featured talk to the ORION astronomy club at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 16. The talk will be at the Grove Theater at 123 Randolph Road in Oak Ridge.

Roberto’s talk is titled “The Discovery of Elements 115 and 117: SuperHeavy Nuclei and the ‘Island of Stability.'” Roberto will review recent progress in super-heavy element research with particular focus on the significance of element 117 and its decay products as evidence for the existence of the presumed “island of stability” for super-heavy nuclei, a press release said. [Read more…]

Synthetic material from ORNL used in discovery of new elements 115, 117

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ORNL Berkelium-249

Berkelium-249, contained in the greenish fluid in the tip of the vial, was crucial to the experiment that discovered element 117. It was made in the research reactor at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Twenty-two milligrams of a very pure synthetic material produced at Oak Ridge National Laboratory were used in the discovery of two new chemical elements that will help fill out the seventh row of the periodic table.

The synthetic element, berkelium-249, was produced in a project that started with a six-month irradiation of a target material at the High Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL. The resulting product was separated and processed during a three-month period at the lab’s Radiochemical Engineering Development Center.

The berkelium-249 was then shipped to the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research, or JINR, in Dubna, Russia, where it was intensely bombarded, or irradiated, with calcium-48 ions, creating six atoms of element 117, said Jim Roberto, ORNL associate lab director for science and technology partnerships. Berkelium-249, which does not exist in nature, has a 300-day lifetime, so researchers had a short time to do their experiments.

Element 117 is one of four new elements that have been officially verified by the International Union for Pure and Applied Chemistry. The IUPAC announced the discoveries on December 30. The other three are elements 113, 115, and 118. Element 115 is produced when element 117 decays. [Read more…]

ORNL plays role as four new elements added to periodic table, filling seventh row

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Periodic Table of Elements

Periodic Table of Elements (Image by Los Alamos National Laboratory)

 

Note: This story was updated at 10:56 p.m. Jan. 6.

Four new elements have been added to the periodic table, filling the seventh row, or period, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory played a role in discovering two of them.

The discovery and assignment of elements with atomic numbers 113, 115, 117, and 118 was announced on December 30 by the International Association of Pure and Applied Chemistry. The discoveries have been officially verified.

ORNL participated in the discovery of elements 115 and 117 in a collaboration between the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.

The discoverers, who also include researchers in Japan, will now be invited to suggest permanent names and symbols.

For now, the elements are known as: [Read more…]

ORNL: Neutrons find ‘missing’ magnetism of plutonium

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Doug Abernathy and Marc Janoschek

Doug Abernathy, left, ARCS instrument scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and Marc Janoschek, Los Alamos National Laboratory, prepare their sample for experiments at the Spallation Neutron Source. (Photo by ORNL)

 

Groundbreaking work at two U.S. Department of Energy national laboratories has confirmed plutonium’s magnetism, which scientists have long theorized but have never been able to experimentally observe. The advances that enabled the discovery hold great promise for materials, energy, and computing applications.

Plutonium was first produced in 1940, and its unstable nucleus allows it to undergo fission, making it useful for nuclear fuels as well as for nuclear weapons. Much less known, however, is that the electronic cloud surrounding the plutonium nucleus is equally unstable and makes plutonium the most electronically complex element in the periodic table, with intriguingly intricate properties for a simple elemental metal.

While conventional theories have successfully explained plutonium’s complex structural properties, they also predict that plutonium should order magnetically. This is in stark contrast with experiments, which had found no evidence for magnetic order in plutonium. [Read more…]

Spotlight: Weapons lab directors visit Y-12

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Weapons Lab Directors Visit Y-12

From left above are Assembly/Disassembly Operations Manager Reed Mullins, Y-12 Site Manager Bill Tindal, LLNL Director William Goldstein, LANL Director Charles McMillan, SNL Director Paul Hommert, and NNSA Production Office Manager Steve Erhart. (Photo courtesy CNS)

 

Laboratory directors from Sandia National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Los Alamos National Laboratory recently visited the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge.

The group toured facilities at the site, including production buildings and Y-12’s Nuclear Detection and Sensor Testing Center, a press release said.

Pictured above are employees at Y-12; lab directors from SNL, LLNL, and LANL; and the National Nuclear Security Administration Production Office.

NNSA marks 10th anniversary of Global Threat Reduction Initiative

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Frank Klotz

Frank Klotz

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The National Nuclear Security Administration on Thursday marked the 10th anniversary of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, GTRI. Since the Sept. 11 attacks, reducing the threat of terrorist acquisition of nuclear or radiological material has been a core mission of NNSA, and it is a mission that will continue into the future.

“The Global Threat Reduction Initiative’s history demonstrates how seriously we take this mission and our commitment to fulfilling President Obama’s nuclear security agenda,” said U.S. Department of Energy Under Secretary for Nuclear Security and NNSA Administrator Frank G. Klotz. “However, the threat to national and global security from state or terrorist acquisition of nuclear and radiological materials is far from gone, and our focus now is on addressing the substantial threats that remain.”

GTRI, an NNSA nuclear nonproliferation program, works with partners around the world to reduce and consolidate global stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, or HEU, and plutonium, and to secure dangerous radiological sources both at home and abroad. GTRI and its predecessor programs have removed and secured more than enough material for 980 nuclear weapons and tens of thousands of radiological dirty bombs by converting HEU research reactors and isotope production facilities to the use of low enriched uranium, or LEU; removing or confirming disposition of HEU and plutonium; and securing nuclear and radiological sites around the world. [Read more…]

Y-12 security project completed $20M under budget, ahead of schedule

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Y-12 National Security Complex Scarboro Road Entrance

The Scarboro Road entrance to the Y-12 National Security Complex is pictured above.

A security improvement project at the Y-12 National Security Complex was completed ahead of schedule and about $20 million under budget, federal officials announced Monday.

The National Nuclear Security Administration’s Security Improvement Project upgraded security at Y-12 by replacing existing alarm stations and access control systems with Argus, a comprehensive security system developed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a press release said. The SIP came in about $20 million under the original $72 million budget.

“Maintaining a safe and secure deterrent is one of NNSA’s most important responsibilities,” said NNSA Acting Chief of Defense Nuclear Security Michael Lempke. “SIP is a continuation of NNSA’s goal to use the best, most modern security technology to keep the nation’s nuclear weapons and material secure.” [Read more…]

NNSA: 2013 a year of important accomplishments, improvements

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WASHINGTON, D.C.—As 2014 begins, the National Nuclear Security Administration has released a list of some of its most important accomplishments and improvements during the past year. NNSA reached significant milestones in the areas of nonproliferation and counterterrorism, made a host of significant achievements through its work with the United States’ nuclear weapons stockpile, and saw improved operations throughout the complex.

“In 2013, even with a challenging budget situation, NNSA’s successes ensured that the United States’ nuclear weapons stockpile is safe, secure and effective; saved taxpayers millions of dollars; and supported emergency preparedness and the next generation of nuclear security workers,” said NNSA Acting Administrator Bruce Held. “Our people, both our government employees and the employees in our government-owned labs and plants, have done great work executing our mission and improving the way we do business.”

NNSA’s 2013 list highlights accomplishments in operations and at its sites, international partnerships to support nonproliferation and removals of dangerous materials, and emergency preparedness trainings and university programs. [Read more…]

Chinese supercomputer still No. 1, ORNL’s Titan No. 2

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Titan Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Titan at Oak Ridge National Laboratory stayed at No. 2 in a Top 500 ranking of the world’s most powerful supercomputers released Monday morning. (Photo courtesy of ORNL)

A Chinese supercomputer kept its top ranking, and Titan at Oak Ridge National Laboratory stayed at No. 2 in a Top 500 ranking of the world’s most powerful supercomputers released Monday morning.

The top two spots were unchanged from the semiannual rankings released five months ago in June, when Tianhe-2, a supercomputer developed by China’s National University of Defense Technology, bumped Titan from the top spot. The ORNL supercomputer had been named No. 1 one year ago.

The rankings released Monday at the SC13 conference in Denver, Colo., said Tianhe-2 is capable of performing 33.86 petaflops. That’s 33.86 quadrillion calculations per second, on what is known as a Linpack benchmark test.

Titan is a Cray XK7 system that achieved 17.59 petaflops. Titan is one of the most energy-efficient systems on the list, consuming a total of 8.21 megawatts and delivering 2.143 gigaflops per watt, a press release said. [Read more…]

NNSA partners with Russia to recover ‘dirty bomb’ material

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WASHINGTON, D.C.— The National Nuclear Security Administration, in partnership with the Russian Federation, has successfully completed the removal of 14 Russian radioisotope thermoelectric generators, or RTGs, from the Northern Sea Route. These devices, which contain high-activity radioactive sources, powered navigational beacons along Russia’s northern coastline. With this removal, the U.S. Department of Energy has completed its efforts to recover RTGs along the Northern Sea Route, a press release said.

RTGs were used for many years in Russia to generate electrical power at remote locations, including lighthouses and navigational beacons. The 14 RTGs recently recovered by DOE contain more than one million curies of strontium-90, a high-activity radioisotope that could be used in a dirty bomb. [Read more…]