3D-printed a car.
Additive Manufacturing -- or 3D-printing -- is revolutionizing how we make everything from wrenches to prosthetic body parts. The National Labs showed that this transformative process can even be used in large-scale manufacturing, like in the auto industry, to drive America towards a more sustainable future.
Image: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Created the clean room.
Normal air contains roughly 35 million particles per cubic meter. A clean room can get that number down to 12. Scientists rely on clean rooms for sensitive jobs from building precision detectors to manufacturing pharmaceuticals. National Lab scientists are to thank for this technology, which constantly filters the air. In this photo, NASA engineers assemble an infrared sensor on the James Webb Space telescope. Without clean rooms, such sensitive instruments wouldn’t be possible.
Image: NASA
Mapped the human genome.
National Labs were the workhorses of the Human Genome Project, the massive, 13-year effort that determined the chemical sequence of human DNA. Researchers relied on supercomputers at the Labs to crunch the massive amounts of data.
Image: Georgetown University
Confirmed the Big Bang and discovered dark energy.
National Lab detectors aboard a NASA satellite revealed the birth of the galaxies in the echoes of the Big Bang. Dark energy -- the mysterious force that makes up three quarters of the universe and causes it to expand at an accelerating rate -- was also discovered by National Lab cosmologists. Now, Labs are working together on the Dark Energy Survey Collaboration to capture images like this one of a barred spiral galaxy about 60 million light years from Earth.
Image: Dark Energy Survey Collaboration
Took lead out of solder.
Lead is toxic, but for thousands of years, people used it to solder everything from pots to jewelry. Today, solder is the “glue” for wires on the circuit boards of virtually any electronic on the market. Thankfully, National Lab scientists developed a lead-free alloy that is healthier for humans and the environment, and widely in use today.
Image: Creative Commons
Stopped acid rain.
A National Lab curbed the dangers of acid rain by developing devices that keep sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide out of the atmosphere. These devices are now installed on 75 percent of America’s coal power plants, and emissions of those two sources are down by more than two thirds of what they were in 1990.
Image: Myrabella via Creative Commons
Exposed explosives.
A credit-card-size detector developed by National Lab scientists can screen for more than 30 kinds of explosives in just minutes. The detector, called ELITE, requires no power and is widely used by the military, law enforcement and security personnel.
Image: Field Forensics
Brought safe water to millions.
Removing arsenic from drinking water is a global priority. A technology engineered at a National Lab can now do exactly that, making contaminated water safe to drink. The technology is simple, requires little maintenance and is in use in thousands of villages across India and Bangladesh as seen in this photo.
Image: Berkeley Lab
Mapped the universe.
Relying on advanced cameras and powerful supercomputers, researchers at the National Labs have produced a 3D map of the sky, including 230 million celestial objects.
Image: Berkeley Lab
Changed the face of matter.
Protons and neutrons were once thought to be indivisible. Wrong. National Lab scientists discovered that protons and neutrons were made of even smaller parts, called quarks. Later experiments identified six kinds of quarks, changing our view of how the material world works.
Image: Symmetry Magazine
Unmasked a dinosaur killer.
Natural history’s greatest whodunit was solved in 1980 when a team of National Lab scientists pinned the dinosaurs’ abrupt extinction on an asteroid collision with Earth. Case closed.
Image: Berkeley Lab
Shown that fusion is not fantasy.
From a fusion test reactor that produced enough power to meet the energy needs of 3,000 homes to the fusion-ignition potential of the world’s largest and most energetic laser, fusion science is moving closer to commercial reality because of National Lab scientists.
Image: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Made wind power mainstream.
Increasing wind-turbine efficiency with high-efficiency airfoils has reduced the cost of wind power by more than 80 percent over the past 30 years. Now deployed in wind farms nationwide, these turbines owe their existence to National Lab research.
Image: National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Fabricated the smallest machines.
The world’s smallest synthetic motor, as well as radios, scales and switches that are 100,000 times finer than a human hair, were engineered at a National Lab. These and other groundbreaking forays into nanotechnology could lead to lifesaving pharmaceuticals and more powerful computers.
Image: George Mason University
Discovered 16 elements.
The periodic table would have some gaps in it without the National Labs. Among the Labs’ handiwork is an instrumental role in the discovery of technetium-99, which has revolutionized the field of medical imaging and is now the most commonly used medical radioisotope. This photo shows the first technetium-99 generator. Another discovery, americium, is widely used in smoke detectors.
Image: Brookhaven National Laboratory
Turned an additive green.
Found in everyday products such as antifreeze, paints and plastics, propylene glycol can now be produced from biomass instead of petroleum. The cost-competitive and renewable alternative process originated at a National Lab and is now in commercial use.
Image: Creative Commons
Pioneered efficient power lines.
New kinds of power lines made from superconductors can carry electric current with no energy loss. Now deployed by National Lab scientists, these prototypes could usher in a new era of ultra-efficient power transmission.
Image: Energy Department
Put the digital in DVDs.
The optical digital recording technology behind music, video and data storage originated at a National Lab nearly 40 years ago.
Image: Getty
Seen inside weapons.
National Lab technology that quickly identifies the chemical makeup of weapons has been used to verify treaties around the world. The diagnostics in this photo are used for surveillance of the nuclear stockpile.
Image: Sandia Labs
Sparked a battery revolution.
Labs are teaming up to build better batteries for powering electric vehicles and storing energy from sources like solar and wind. National Labs have already dramatically improved battery technology, enabling products like the Chevy Volt. In this photo, a Lab researcher demonstrates a reaction that can improve battery chemistry.
Image: Energy Department
Home to some of the world’s most powerful lasers, fastest supercomputers and talented researchers, the Department of Energy’s National Laboratories are a powerhouse of science and technology. This system of 17 labs pushes the frontiers of scientific knowledge, keeps our nation secure and fuels our clean energy economy.
Scroll through the photo gallery to see some of the most notable contributions the Labs have made to science, energy and national security. Some of them might just come as a surprise.
Editor's Note: This list was adapted from an earlier publication by Berkeley Lab.
