NASA uses the isotope plutonium-238 to power its space explorations. The car-sized Mars 2020 rover will contain plutonium produced at ORNL.
ORNL is a major source of isotopes, providing more than 300 for use in medicine, research, industry and space exploration.
Caltech chemical engineer Frances Arnold delivered the Eugene P. Wigner Distinguished Lecture in Science, Technology, and Policy at ORNL on Nov. 2, 2015.
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ORNL’s Molten Salt Reactor Experiment operated more than 13,000 hours during its four-year run in the mid- to late 1960s. A priority of long-serving lab director Alvin Weinberg, MSRE was noteworthy at least in part because it ran on fuel that circulated through the reactor rather than staying put in...
A global agreement to phase down the use of potent greenhouse gas refrigerants and replace them with climate-friendly alternatives leaned on multiple ORNL studies. In a landmark decision, climate leaders from more than 190 countries agreed to amend the Montreal Protocol to discontinue producing a...
Extreme pressure can lead to chemical compounds not found on Earth under normal conditions. Nobel Prize winner Roald Hoffmann discusses how they can give us valuable information.