Spallation Neutron Source

Oak Ridge, Tennessee

The Spallation Neutron Source is an accelerator-based neutron source that is built on an 80 acre site adjacent to the Oak Ridge National Laboratories. This one of a kind, 1.4 Billion Dollar Project, will provide the most intense pulsed neutron beam in the world for scientific research. The baseline installation includes an accelerator system consisting of an ion source, full energy linear accelerator (Linac), and an accumulator ring (Ring Tunnel) that combine to produce short, powerful bursts of protrons. These protron pulses impinge onto a mercury target (Target Building) to produce neutrons through the spallation nuclear process. The facility is supported by a massive six story Central Laboratory and Office Building (CLO) and the Center of Nanophase Material Sciences (CNMS).