Press Release

Press Release: The Neutron Chopper in Advanced Manufacturing

The properties of magnetism, protein structure analysis, stress and strain in jet engines, explosive materials, energy and matter are all essential domains for the development of our society that require research efforts and in-depth studies using neutron optics. The neutron chopper, invented in 1935, is a device that filters beams of neutrons at different energy levels using a rotating chopper blade. Neutron absorbing disks in the chopper rotate at high speeds to chop neutron beams, resulting in neutron beams at uniform energy levels. As you can imagine, with this high level of functionality, it is indisputable that an immense amount of heat and stress is generated. Extensive heat and stress can reduce the functionality of the neutron chopper and increase its risk of structural failure. Improving the design of the neutron chopper to accommodate the high heat and stress created can enable scientists to continue studying fundamental topics of human interest.