Neutron scattering instrumentation for biology at spallation neutron sources

Conference · Sat Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1994

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-5847-7_5· OSTI ID:381071

Pynn, R ^[1]

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1. Los Alamos National Laboratory, NM (United States)

Conventional wisdom holds that since biological entities are large, they must be studied with cold neutrons, a domain in which reactor sources of neutrons are often supposed to be pre-eminent. In fact, the current generation of pulsed spallation neutron sources, such as LANSCE at Los Alamos and ISIS in the United Kingdom, has demonstrated a capability for small angle scattering (SANS) - a typical cold- neutron application - that was not anticipated five years ago. Although no one has yet built a Laue diffractometer at a pulsed spallation source, calculations show that such an instrument would provide an exceptional capability for protein crystallography at one of the existing high-power spoliation sources. Even more exciting is the prospect of installing such spectrometers either at a next-generation, short-pulse spallation source or at a long-pulse spallation source. A recent Los Alamos study has shown that a one-megawatt, short-pulse source, which is an order of magnitude more powerful than LANSCE, could be built with today`s technology. In Europe, a preconceptual design study for a five-megawatt source is under way. Although such short-pulse sources are likely to be the wave of the future, they may not be necessary for some applications - such as Laue diffraction - which can be performed very well at a long-pulse spoliation source. Recently, it has been argued by Mezei that a facility that combines a short-pulse spallation source similar to LANSCE, with a one-megawatt, long-pulse spallation source would provide a cost-effective solution to the global shortage of neutrons for research. The basis for this assertion as well as the performance of some existing neutron spectrometers at short-pulse sources will be examined in this presentation.

• Research Organization: Los Alamos National Lab., NM (United States)
• OSTI ID: 381071
• Report Number(s): LA-UR--96-634; CONF-9410223--; ON: DE96006681
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES
44 INSTRUMENTATION
INCLUDING NUCLEAR AND PARTICLE DETECTORS
55 BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
BASIC STUDIES
66 PHYSICS
BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS
COLD NEUTRONS
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
NEUTRON DIFFRACTION
NEUTRON SOURCES
NEUTRON SPECTROMETERS
PERFORMANCE
SMALL ANGLE SCATTERING