Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

First Neutron Pulse from SNS

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the prepare-the-proton-torpedos dept.

kebes writes "The $1.4 billion Spallation Neutron Source is nearing completion, and has produced its first neutron pulse. The SNS is a scientific instrument that generates beams of neutrons, which can be used to probe anything from minuscule samples to industrial materials. When fully operational, the facility is expected to host up to 2,000 international scientists annually."

1 of 145 comments (clear)

  1. Extremely Cost-prohibitive to use by paladinwannabe2 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    From the article:
    'The machine is so powerful that in one year it will use about the same amount of electricity as a town of 30,000.'

    If we assume that the average person has an electric bill of $1000/yr, that would be $30,000,000/yr, or about $82,200/day just in electricity costs.
    I imagine that lots of scientists would want to play around with this- I would certainly have fun with it given the chance. At that price, though, only extremely well-funded researchers could afford to use this machine.

    --
    You are reading a copy of my copyrighted post.