This web site is designed for accessibility. Content is obtainable and functional to any browser or Internet device. This page's full visual experience is available in a graphical browser that supports web standards. See reasons to upgrade your browser.

BNL:  Departments  |  Science  |  ESS&H  |  Newsroom  |  Administration  |  Visitors  |  Directory

search

Find People

BGRR Operations, 1950-1968

A research reactor exists for one purpose only: to create vast quantities of neutrons. Yet just this makes it one of the most versatile of scientific instruments. Nuclear physicists, starting to develop quantitative models of the nucleus, needed neutrons to obtain data on nuclear behavior. Solid-state physicists wanted neutrons for discovering the locations and motions of atoms in materials. Chemists could use neutrons to examine many properties of matter of interest to them. Life scientists used neutrons to study the effects of radiation on organic tissues and to create radioisotopes for research and treatment. Reactor engineers needed information on various fuel types, moderators, coolants, and control systems, as did naval and air-craft engineers designing nuclear-powered submarines, ships, aircraft, and, later, spacecraft.*

Click on an image below to view a larger version.

1-52-62-w.jpg (48237 bytes) 1-92-3-w.jpg (48264 bytes) 8-54-4-w.jpg (52148 bytes)
  
fuel-charging-w.jpg (50840 bytes) CN9-135-60-w.jpg (37481 bytes) 9-115-76-w.jpg (59346 bytes)
 
8-66-2-w.jpg (53069 bytes) 7-508-58-w.jpg (44949 bytes) 3-217-5-w.jpg (46761 bytes)
  
1-752-62-w.jpg (37847 bytes) 4-267-1-w.jpg (23477 bytes) 7-1466-68-w.jpg (17821 bytes)

* from "Making Physics" by R. Crease, University of Chicago Press, 1999.
 


DOE, Office of Science One of ten national laboratories overseen and primarily funded by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Brookhaven National Laboratory conducts research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies and national security. Brookhaven Lab also builds and operates major scientific facilities available to university, industry and government researchers. Brookhaven is operated and managed for DOE's Office of Science by Brookhaven Science Associates, a limited-liability company founded by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York on behalf of Stony Brook University, the largest academic user of Laboratory facilities, and Battelle, a nonprofit, applied science and technology organization.

Privacy and Security Notice  | Contact Web Services for help