Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, is one of the largest and most diverse energy research and development centers in the United States. Work at the laboratory focuses primarily on basic energy research and nuclear energy technology.
Oak Ridge researchers conduct experiments with nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. The laboratory is also the major source in the United States for radioactive and stable isotopes used in medicine, industry, and research. Other fields of study at Oak Ridge include nuclear physics, metallurgical and solid-state physics, biology, and energy conservation. Scientists there also work to develop more efficient methods of using coal and other nonnuclear sources of energy. In addition, scientists study how the use of various forms of energy affects the environment and human health.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory was established in 1943 as part of the World War II Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. The main objective of the laboratory’s wartime activities was to develop a process for separating plutonium, an explosive material used in atomic bombs, from uranium. To do so, the laboratory built and operated the graphite reactor, the world’s first nuclear reactor. Today, the University of Tennessee and Battelle Memorial Institute, a research organization, operate the laboratory under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy.
