The atomic physics community is getting a boost with the just-completed upgrade of Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Multicharged Ion Research Facility. Researchers have been conducting experiments at MIRF since 1984. The upgrade, which broadens its range of available energies by five orders of magnitude, will enhance the facility's ability to investigate the interactions of atomic and molecular ions with matter. These studies are being performed to explore atomic collision phenomena in a wide variety of plasma environments, ranging from plasma fusion reactors including experiments for the ITER project to interstellar space. Agencies that support MIRF research include DOE's Basic Energy Sciences and Office of Fusion Energy Programs and NASA.
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