Feature Articles

Molten salt has caught the eye of the nuclear industry as an ideal working fluid for reactor cooling, energy transfer, fueling and fission product absorption.

When opportunity meets talent, great things happen. The laser comb developed at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory serves as such an example. This advanced technique, developed by laser scientist Yun Liu, allows physicists to take measurements of particle beams in superconducting linear accelerators in real-time without affecting operations. The measurement captures critical information about changes in the distribution of beam particles. The development and use of this technique solidifies ORNL’s leadership in beam instrumentation and leads the advancement of high-power proton accelerators.

A floor coordinator at Argonne National Laboratory’s Advanced Photon Source, Ashley Wayman manages four sectors around the electron storage ring, acting as a liaison between beamline staff and the rest of the facility.

Hydrogen is also an excellent way to store energy for electricity generation or to power vehicles.

Kevin Wilson studies how chemistry proceeds at liquid interfaces on cloud droplets, atmospheric aerosols, and ocean surfaces. With the support of his 2012 Early Career award, his team focused on reactions between gases and surfaces of ozone and hydroxyl radicals in the atmosphere.

Like most scientists, Chengping Chai is not content with the surface of things: He wants to probe beyond to learn what’s really going on. But in his case, he is literally building a map of the world beneath, using seismic and acoustic data that reveal when and where the earth moves. Yet earthquakes are not the focus of Chai’s research at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He is using these waves to make waves — creating new opportunities for developing clean energy and enhancing sensing capabilities around nuclear reactors.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers, in collaboration with Enginuity Power Systems, demonstrated that a micro combined heat and power prototype, or mCHP, with a piston engine can achieve an overall energy efficiency greater than 93%.