PARTS FROM THE WORLD’S LARGEST LASER
You’re looking at the inside of the world’s largest and most powerful laser. It focuses the intense energy of 192 giant laser beams on a BB-sized target in experiments to create nuclear fusion. Examples of the optics that focus the lasers and targets at which they’re aimed will be on display at the Make | ENERGY pavilion.
Image: Photo by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
REMOTE-CONTROLLED ROBOTS
High school students built these robots with help from mentors at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. See them in action as they perform tasks to impress humans and robots alike.
Image: Photo by Rachel Brooks, Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
3D-PRINTED ARMY JEEP
Check out this patriotic 3D-printed ride. Oak Ridge National Laboratory printed a drivable 1952 Willys Army Jeep replica as part of a project with the U.S. Department of Defense to highlight the potential of this revolutionary technology.
Image: Photo by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
CARBON CAPTURE MICROBEADS
These tiny capsules might be the future of carbon capture technology, and you can hold thousands of them in the palm of your hand. Barely larger than a grain of sand, each capsule contains a sodium carbonate solution that traps CO2. Scientists hope to employ these at fossil fuel power plants someday.
Image: Photo by John Vericella, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
ELECTROCHROMIC WINDOWS
What if your windows block out the heat on a warm, sunny day while still letting in as much light? Electrochromic windows use an electric charge to change the tint of the glass to adjust to environmental conditions. This technology has a lot of potential to improve energy efficiency in buildings.
Image: Photo by Berkeley Lab.
3D-PRINTED ROBOTIC ARM
Take a look at this robotic arm. It was 3D-printed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory to demonstrate one of the many applications of this technology. President Obama even used it as a backdrop when announcing a new advanced manufacturing initiative. You can recreate the photo if you like.
Image: Official White House Photo by Lawrence Jackson.
MINI MICROSCOPES
Anyone with access to a 3D printer can make this miniature microscope that clips onto a cell phone camera. It can magnify a sample by 1000 times, and it costs pennies. Three printers at the Make | ENERGY pavilion will be churning these out, so swing by to get one of your own.
Image: Photo by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
ALGAE TURNING INTO FUEL
Did you know algae can be turned into fuel? Scientists are working to make the process more efficient in an effort to find renewable replacements for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. A device called an algae photobioreactor (like the one pictured) does the work.
Image: Photo by Sandia National Laboratories.
TINY SATELLITES
These satellites may be small (they’re 10-cm cubes that can be joined together, as shown) but they have a big impact. Powerful and cost-effective, these tools help strengthen our national security presence in space in a package about the size of a lunchbox.
Image: Photo by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.