Argonne National Laboratory

The first thing we all noticed about Argonne National Laboratory is the extensive security. Pulling into the parking lot we saw fences with barbed wire on them and guards waiting at the entrance. We had to show our IDs to get a badge to enter the facility. At first we were kind of creeped out but eventually saw that the facility was actually very nice. Our tour guide was a man by the name of David Hooper. He has been working at Argonne for three decades, starting out as an intern while in high school. He is very knowledgeable about mostly everything that is going on around the lab.  After a short informational talk and safety video we were ready for our tour!

After going through more security, we were on our way. The first stop on the tour was the Wakefield Accelerator. This accelerator is specifically designed for research which requires intense, short pulse electron beams. We have heard and learned a lot about accelerators so we were very excited to see the other facilities Argonne has to offer. Unlike Fermilab, Argonne does not only do high energy physics but also a wide variety of different research subjects.

The next stop was the Advanced Powertrain Research Facility.  Many of us thought this place was the neatest place at Argonne, including myself. In this facility, car manufacturers are allowed to bring some of their cars and test different specifications of the car. In the facility they can test for gas emissions, gas mileage, how the car runs in different temperatures, and a lot of other things! I thought the most interesting thing they were researching at this facility is the electrical car and charging station. They have a wireless charging station that looks like a little garage. All someone has to do is drive the car into the garage and voila it’s charging!

The third facility we visited was the Advanced Photon Source. The APS provides intense x-ray beams to many scientists from around the world. The experiments being done there range from material sciences to physics and even geology. The APS has 40 different sectors for the experiments to take place. The amount of planning and technology that was put into the accelerator is just amazing.

After the APS we had lunch!

Lunch was amazing as usual but we had to get back to science! The next stop was the Nuclear Energy Exhibit. This was not an experiment but more of a museum. In this exhibit we learned about nuclear energy and the role that Argonne had in the infamous Manhattan Project.

We ended the day with seeing their huge supercomputer! They need a supercomputer to work through all of the data the facility is bringing in. We all thought it was amazing and super neat but Adrian was in heaven. He would like to work on a supercomputer someday so actually seeing one in person really excited him as it should.

The day at Argonne was wonderful! We had a great time learning about the science and experiments that were being done there. It is definitely something we will never forget!

   - Dakotah Simpson, Lead, SD