Knowra Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a U.S. research institution in Tennessee, founded during the Manhattan Project and now conducting research in energy, materials, computing, and nuclear science.
Manhattan Project : The U.S.-led wartime program that developed the first atomic bombs during World War II. The laboratory began as part of this secret program to produce enriched uranium.
Spallation Neutron Source : A research facility that generates intense neutron pulses by striking a mercury target with accelerated protons. It supplies neutron beams for studying materials at atomic scales.
Nuclear energy : Energy released through nuclear fission, fusion, or radioactive decay and used to produce heat or electricity. Oak Ridge research supports reactor technologies, fuel cycles, and nuclear materials.
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki : The U.S. atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in August 1945. Oak Ridge’s uranium-enrichment work contributed material for the Hiroshima bomb.
Clinton Engineer Works : The Manhattan Project’s industrial complex at Oak Ridge, Tennessee, built to produce fissile material. This wartime complex was the laboratory’s institutional predecessor.
High Flux Isotope Reactor : A research reactor at Oak Ridge that provides intense neutron beams and produces specialized isotopes. It supports experiments and isotope production alongside the laboratory’s other facilities.
Advanced manufacturing : Manufacturing that uses advanced materials, digital tools, automation, and improved production processes. Laboratory research develops and tests processes intended to improve industrial production.
Oak Ridge, Tennessee : A city in eastern Tennessee developed as a secret Manhattan Project site during World War II. The laboratory is part of a city whose growth and identity were shaped by wartime science.
Y-12 National Security Complex : A U.S. nuclear-security facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, originally built to separate uranium isotopes. It operated alongside the laboratory within the Manhattan Project’s Oak Ridge complex.
Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility : A U.S. Department of Energy user facility providing high-performance computing for scientific research. Its supercomputers let researchers model systems too large or complex for direct experiments.
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