Feature Story | 20-Nov-2025
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One of the four missions at DOE’s High Flux Isotope Reactor is neutron scattering, a research technique used to study matter at the atomic scale. These neutrons are produced at HFIR through fission, or the splitting of atoms.
Credit: Sumner Brown Gibbs/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy
For more than 60 years, the High Flux Isotope Reactor has produced neutron beams for the benefit of society, creating real-world impacts that span energy security, quantum computing, healthcare, national defense and advanced materials.
Located at Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory. HFIR continuously produces neutrons for hundreds of scientists each year. These scientists compete for beam time on HFIR’s 12 world-leading scientific instruments to conduct experiments using a technique that unlocks the mysteries of matter and drives the discovery of new materials.
This technique, known as neutron scattering, relies on powerful beams of neutrons, particles with no electrical charge that can penetrate matter at the atomic scale without affecting samples. Since the development of neutron scattering at Oak Ridge National Laboratory by Ernest Wollan in 1944, who was later joined by physicist Clifford Shull, scientists have used neutron scattering to study a range of materials, from delicate biological proteins to jet engines.
Inside the samples, millions of neutrons interact with atoms and scatter toward high-speed digital detectors. The detectors record different angles, speeds and intensities of the scattered neutrons.
Specialized software then sifts through and reduces the staggering amount of data collected from the millions of recorded signals. After unwanted signals are eliminated, scientists identify scattering patterns that reveal structures and dynamics within the materials.
Powered by the world’s strongest reactor-based neutron source, HFIR’s neutron scattering capabilities serve as an essential tool for advancing knowledge and developing transformative technologies that address real-world challenges and improve lives.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit energy.gov/science. — Sumner Brown Gibbs and Paul Boisvert