Updated: 8/30/2007 10:39:48 PM
A $1.4 billion dollar research facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory is making its way into the record books.
On Thursday, U.S Senator Lamar Alexander and U.S Representatives Zack Wamp and Bart Gordon took a tour of the facility.
It's called the Spallation Neutron Source.
"This is the month we set the record," ORNL Director Thom Mason. "We reset the bar. Now every time we increase the power, we go up the map. We are going to set a new world record up to 1.4 megawatts which is about 10 times where we are now."
Mason says the SNS is like a fancy microscope that can see how atoms are put together one at a time. Its beam power beat the United Kingdom's ISIS facility record on August 11th.
It hit 183 kilowatts.
"I like to be first. Tennesseans like to be first," Senator Alexander said. "We want to beat California this weekend. We like to win the South Eastern Conference. My grandfather used to say aim for the top--there is more room there. What we see are some firsts."
Understanding molecular structures will help researchers make materials stronger, lighter, and even cheaper.
It could lead to airplanes that fly with less fuel or bridges that are more resistant to stress.
"From the lightest-weight efficient planes to products you pass through at the gates of airports, it's coming out of places like this," Representative Wamp said. "That's why we need to be competitive."
The lab is staying competitive in research and now in the record books. Mason hopes the new record will bring many of the world's top researchers to Tennessee for ground breaking work.
