Spallation Neutron Source to Provide Facilities to Conduct World-Class Science
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Spallation Neutron Source to Provide Facilities to Conduct World-Class Science Neutrons, because they are electrically uncharged, are a unique probe of the structure of matter. Neutron experiments can give precise Information about the positions and motion of individual atoms. In addition, neutrons give complementary information to that obtainable from both nuclear magnetic resonance and Synchro tron light scattering. Neutron scattering can be used to study residual strain in materials, chemical and biological reactions in "real time," the vortex lattice structure in supercondurtors, the structure of polymer interfaces and surfaces, and protein dynamics, to name just a few applications. One of the things which becomes immediately clear upon talking to researchers who use neutron sources is that a dearth of beam lines are available within the United States, and those that are operating are greatly oversubscribed. Some estimates show an oversubscription rate of at least a factor of three, and that is from the sdentists and engineers who are still trying to get time at the facilities. Others say that they have given up trying to get time at neutron facilities and will have to do without the results which neutron diffraction and scattering might yield. Currently, most would agree that the United States lags behind the rest of the world in neutron capability. The Community of researchers is still relatively small due to the lack of avail able beam lines. U.S. scientists who need a high flux of neutrons must travel abroad to perform their experiments. The distribution of experimenters by sci entific discipline differs from that in Europe. Most U.S. neutron users are either physical scientists or materials scientists and engineers, with a very small but growing proportion of biologists. Another issue facing the neutron Community is how to train the next generation of scientists and engineers without the very best instru-
ments and adequate number of beam lines. Many of these problems and bottlenecks will be addressed when work begins on the planned Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) about six years from now. The principal reason for implementing the SNS is to enable a high level of science and engineering. The greater beam intensity at the SNS will mean that more experiments can be performed in less time. In addition, some experiments, previously irrtpossible because the beam flux of neutrons was inadequate, will now be feasible. Also a spallation source where the Instruments are optimized to take into account the beam characteristics will provide a complement to the types of measurements which can be made at a reactor source. The construction of the SNS provides a golden opportunity to design a suite of instruments that will enable world-class science. In the Fiscal Year 1999 budget, the Senate and Congress approved spending $130 million in the Department of Energy's appropriation bill to begin construction of the SNS at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The initial project, to be completed in 2005, is expected to cost $1.
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