The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center

The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center, or LANSCE, uses the first truly high-current medium-energy proton linear accelerator, which operated originally at a beam power of 1 MW for medium-energy nuclear physics. Today LANSCE continues operation as one of the most versatile accelerator-based user facilities in the world. During eight months of annual operation, scientists from around the world work at LANSCE to execute an extraordinarily broad program of defense and civilian research. Several areas operate simultaneously. The Lujan Neutron Scattering Center (Lujan Center) is a moderated spallation source (meV to keV), the Weapons Neutron Research Facility (WNR) is a bare spallation neutron source (keV to 800 MeV), and a new ultra-cold neutron source will be operational in 2005. These sources give LANSCE the ability to produce and use neutrons with energies that range over 14 orders of magnitude. LANSCE also supplies beam to WNR and two other areas for applications requiring protons. In a proton radiography (pRad) area, a sequence of narrow proton pulses is transmitted through shocked materials and imaged to study dynamic properties. In 2005, LANSCE began operating a facility that uses 100-MeV protons to produce medical radioisotopes. To sustain a vigorous program beyond this decade, LANSCE has embarked on a project to refurbish key elements of the facility and to plan capabilities beyond those that presently exist.