Spallation Neutron Source at Oak Ridge: How it works

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., produces the most intense pulsed neutron beams in the world. The SNS linear accelerator (Linac) shown here is the most powerful proton-pulsed accelerator in the world. Stretching the length of nearly three football fields, the Linac is responsible for focusing and propelling protons to roughly 90% the speed of light just before they smash into a liquid mercury target, releasing about 25 neutrons for every proton to be used for scientific discovery.