Revisit the lab’s most popular articles, featuring top news, research and events
NEWPORT NEWS, VA – The 40th anniversary year for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility was a busy one. The laboratory installed its first public artwork, cited many great new results from research conducted by our staff and scientific users, and celebrated our 40th by inviting the public on-site for our first open house event since 2018.
Now, as 2024 draws to a close, join us for a look back at the stories our audiences chose as the most popular of the year.
#5 – Conduction-cooled Accelerating Cavity Proves Feasible for Commercial Applications
From televisions to X-ray machines, many modern technologies are enabled by electrons that have been juiced up by a particle accelerator. As reported in February, Jefferson Lab worked with General Atomics and other partners to unlock even more applications by exploring the process of designing, prototyping and testing particle accelerators that are more powerful and efficient, while also less expensive and bulky.
#4 – Jefferson Lab 2024 Open House Recap
Love was in the air at Jefferson Lab on Saturday, June 8, as an estimated 9,000 visitors flocked to the lab to celebrate its 40th anniversary under blue skies on this balmy, spring day. The theme of Jefferson Lab’s long-awaited open house was the first-ever use of the Virginia Is for Science Lovers® slogan, under Virginia Tourism Corporation’s 50-year-strong Virginia Is for Lovers® campaign.
#3 – Gravity Helps Show Strong Force Strength in the Proton
The power of gravity is writ large across our visible universe. It can be seen in the lock step of moons as they circle planets; in wandering comets pulled off-course by massive stars; and in the swirl of gigantic galaxies. These awesome displays showcase gravity’s influence at the largest scales of matter. Now, nuclear physicists are discovering that gravity also has much to offer at matter’s smallest scales. Research conducted by nuclear physicists at Jefferson Lab and reported in January showed that using a method that connects theories of gravitation to interactions among the smallest particles of matter can reveal new details at this smaller scale. It revealed, for the first time, a snapshot of the distribution of the strong force inside the proton, detailing the shear stress the force may exert on the proton’s quarks.
#2 – Accessing the Lesser Known Nucleon
Protons and neutrons–known collectively as nucleons–are the building blocks of matter, but one of these particles has received a bit more attention in certain types of nuclear physics experiments. Until now. New results reported in November describe a first-time glimpse of the internal structure of the neutron thanks to the development of a special, 10-years-in-the-making detector installed in Experimental Hall B at Jefferson Lab.
#1 – Virginia is for Science Lovers®️ LOVEwork on Display for Open House
Science and sustainability merge in an art display at Jefferson Lab. The new LOVEwork installation revealed in June celebrates Virginia's iconic "Virginia is for Lovers®️" slogan with a twist - "Virginia is for Science Lovers®️." The massive LOVE letters tower 8 feet high and stretch over 25 feet wide. But this is no ordinary public art. The LOVEwork is made entirely from repurposed aluminum flat pipes called vacuum chambers once used in particle accelerator magnets.
Contact: Kandice Carter, Jefferson Lab Communications Office, kcarter@jlab.org