Neutron and Nuclear Science (WNR) Facility at LANSCE
Introduction to LANSCE
The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) provides the scientific community with intense sources of neutrons for experiments supporting national security, academic and industrial research. LANSCE has two spallation neutron sources: the Manuel Lujan Jr. Neutron Scattering Center (Target-1) and the Neutron and Nuclear Science Research facility (Target-4). Together they provide neutrons over a range of energies—extending from sub-milli electron volts to hundreds of million electron volts—that are used for both material science and nuclear science research. In addition, LANSCE provides protons for radiography of dynamically evolving systems as well as for materials irradiation and isotope production. LANSCE also has an intense source of ultra-cold neutrons for fundamental physics research. Users of the facility span a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines and institutions in the U.S. and abroad.
Aerial view of the LANSCE facility. (larger image)
Neutron and Nuclear Science
The Neutron and Nuclear Science Research Facility (WNR) provides neutron and proton beams, and detector arrays for basic, applied, industrial, and defense-related research. Neutron beams with energies ranging from about 0.1 MeV to more than 600 MeV are produced in Target 4 (an unmoderated tungsten spallation source) using the 800 MeV proton beam from the LANSCE linac. In the Target-2 area (Blue Room) samples can be exposed to the direct 800 MeV proton beam. Three low-energy nuclear science flight paths at the Lujan Center (Target 1) view a moderated target and have neutron energies that range from sub-thermal to approximately 500 keV.