Jeffrey Lynn

NIST Center for Neutron Research

National Institute of Standards and Technology

&

Quantum Materials Center

University of Maryland

Science and Technology with Neutrons
National Bureau of Standards

1901

National Institute of Standards and Technology

1988
NIST, Standards and Technology 

 Standard Reference Materials

 Computer and Network Security

 Building Standards and Construction

 International Standards for Commerce

 Precision Measurements

 New Materials for Advanced Technology

 Fire Standards and Safety

 Smart Grid

 CHIPS and Science Act

 . . .

⇐

⇐
First Question

 How long is this talk going to last?! 

 My question: Who keeps the time? And

 Then, how accurate is your clock?

 How accurate does it need to be?

 NIST serves as the United States' primary time and 

frequency standard, with a cesium fountain atomic clock. 

 How accurate? Won’t gain or lose more than a minute,

 In 14 billion years—the age of the universe.

 Do you really need a clock that accurate?

 Yes, for the Global Positioning System (GPS).
Metric Standards

 Why isn’t the American public using the metric system?
Thomas Jefferson (Secretary of State)

1794

New French Standards

The meter and the kilogram

Joseph Dombey

French physician & botanist
Metric Standards

 Adoption of metric standards in U.S. delayed a century

 Congress passed the Metric Act of 1866 (but).

 United States officially adopted metric standards 1893 

 Many U.S. companies use the metric system

 But widespread public use is lacking

 NIST keeps the standards

 and provides standard reference materials

 Length, mass, time, temperature, electric current, volt, 

luminosity, energy

 meter, kilogram, second, Kelvin, ampere, candela, Joule

 Watt (kilo-Watt – hours = kilo Joules)
Science and Technology with Neutrons
Why use Neutrons?

Adjacent elements, heavy + light elements, isotope substitution.

Neutrons have magnetic moment--can measure magnetic properties.

Neutrons have no charge, so they penetrate materials easily and deeply.

Neutron scattering strength depends on nucleus, not the element.
May 2017

NIST Center for Neutron Research
20 MW / D2O moderated

at mid-plane 

(un-fueled region)

7 cycles/year

38 day cycles

~240 days/year

NBSR

Neutron Beam Split-core Reactor

Φ=1.5 × 1014 n/cm2/s
NIST Center for Neutron Research

Reactor Building: 30 beamlines + Neutron Activation Analysis

Spectroscopy

Small Angle Scattering

Reflectometry

Diffraction

Imaging

Interferometry

Fundamental Physics

Activation Analysis

Reactor
RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS
Precision Measurements with Neutrons
Properties of the Neutron

Mass

1.00866491595 ± 0.00000000049 atomic mass units

Difference between Neutron and Proton mass

1.29333236 ± 0.00000049 MeV

Magnetic Moment

1.91304273 ± 0.00000045 nuclear magnetons

Electric Dipole Moment

< 0.18 ×10-25 e-cm

Electric Charge of the Neutron

< 0.8 ×10-21 e (charge of the electron).

< 0.00000000000000000000008 e

Neutron Lifetime: 878.4 ± 0.5 seconds 

(proton, electron, antineutrino)

E & M

Strong Force

Gravity

Weak Force

What happened 

at the start 

of the Universe?
Quantum Materials:

Magnets and Superconductors

Search for New Materials with 

Unique and Interesting Properties
Magnets for Spintronics
Transistors and Computer Memories
Magnets for Spintronics

• Topological insulators

• Topological Semimetals

• Half-metallic (spin polarized) ferromagnets or antiferromagnets

• Magnetic semiconductors
Superconductors!

• Superconductivity was discovered in 1911 (Mercury, Superconducting below 4.2 K)

• Technological Applications: Research

– Research Magnets

– High Field Magnets for accelerators 

– High Field Magnets for fusion confinement reactors

– Ultra-sensitive superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) to detect magnetic fields

• Technological Applications: Commercial

– Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

– Fast Levitating Trains

– Low loss Power Cables

– Fast Digital Electronics

– Microwave Filters (Mobile phone towers)

– Energy Storage in Magnets (Power Grid)

– SQUIDs for Magnetoencephalography (MEG) and magnetocardiography (MCG)

• Quantum Computers!

• Room Temperature Superconductors!

X (MRI)
New Materials for High Capacity Batteries
Aleksandar Matic
Lithium Ion Batteries

Aleksandar Matic
Aleksandar Matic
Surge of Li (and Ni, Co) price is a limiting 

factor to commercial Li-ion battery

500,500 CNY/T

≈ 71,162 USD/T

Li2CO3

61

Jul 2019 2020 2021 2022

 disruptive storage technology will emerge
Abundance of Elements 

In Upper Continental Earth Crust

Order of

Abundance

Element Presence in the

Earth’s Crust (%)

Order of

Abundance

Element Presence in the

Earth’s Crust (%)

1 O 49.5 16 N 0.03

2 Si 25.8 17 F 0.03

3 Al 7.56 18 Rb 0.03

4 Fe 4.7 19 Ba 0.023

5 Ca 3.39 20 Sr 0.02

6 Na 2.63 21 Cr 0.015

7 K 2.4 22 V 0.01

8 Mg 1.93 23 Ni 0.008

9 H 0.83 24 Zn 0.007

10 Ti 0.46 25 Cu 0.006

11 Cl 0.19 26 Li 0.004

12 Mn 0.09 27 Co 0.004

13 P 0.08 28 Sn 0.004

14 C 0.08 29 Pb 0.0015

15 S 0.06 30 Mo 0.0013

6 Na 2.63%

26 Li 0.004%
Aleksandar Matic
NaMnO2

Amplitude mode in the Planar triangular antiferromagnet Na0.9MnO2, 

Rebecca L. Dally, Yang Zhao, Zhijun Xu, Robin Chisnell, M. B. Stone, Jeffrey W. Lynn, 

Leon Balents, and Stephen D. Wilson, Nature Communications 9, 2188 (2018)

Novel Magnetic Properties
NaxMnO2 battery electrodes

Matter 5, 1, 2022
Neutron Research 

 Hydrogen Fuel Cells

 Natural Gas and Oil Pipelines

 Vaporization of Jet Fuel

 Injectable Pharmaceutical (Eli Lilly)

 Shear Thickening Fluids

 Standard Reference Materials
Neutron Research 

 Hydrogen Fuel Cells

 Natural Gas and Oil Pipelines

 Vaporization of Jet Fuel

 Injectable Pharmaceutical (Eli Lilly)

 Shear Thickening Fluids

 Standard Reference Materials
Neutron Imaging for the Hydrogen Economy

• Neutrons see material differently 

than x-rays

• The fine details of the water in this 

Asiatic Lily are clear to neutrons 

even in a lead cask

• Subtle changes in the water 

distribution inside a running fuel cell 

impact performance and durability

• Neutron Imaging measures these 

small changes at video frame rate
Hydrogen Fuel Cell

8 cm thick

13 cm across

3 inches

5 inches 
Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Hydrogen Fuel Cell
Neutron Research 

 Hydrogen Fuel Cells

 Natural Gas and Oil Pipelines

 Vaporization of Jet Fuel

 Injectable Pharmaceutical (Eli Lilly)

 Shear Thickening Fluids

 Standard Reference Materials
Pipeline Failures

Safety - Gas pipelines have an enviable safety record in transporting energy; this is due to detailed materials 

characterization, stress analysis and continued analysis during service.

Modes of failure – fracture, fatigue, stress corrosion cracking, and external damage. Failures are affected by 

residual stress in the pipeline after manufacture and welding, excessive flexing during transport.

External damage is caused by construction and agricultural activity, often by backhoes and excavators. Pipelines 

are buried!

Blowout of a gas pipeline Rupture after 

hydrotesting
Dents and gouges produced by the Stress 

Aggression Rig
Neutron Research 

 Hydrogen Fuel Cells

 Natural Gas and Oil Pipelines

 Vaporization of Jet Fuel

 Injectable Pharmaceutical (Eli Lilly)

 Shear Thickening Fluids

 Standard Reference Materials
Jet Fuel

 Prevent jet fuel fires 

 For safety 

 National security
Jet Fuel
Jet Fuel

 Prevent fuel fires for safety and national security

 Addition of small amounts of polymers can reduce 

misting

 But they break down under normal fuel handling

 And can also clog jet engines

 The challenge is to find a mist-control polymer that is 

stable

 Research by Cal Tech team found new polymers using 

neutron scattering that are stable in real world conditions

 Megasupramolecules (100 ppm) don’t degrade and don’t 

affect the jet engine performance
Jet Fuel with Polymer additive
Neutron Research 

 Hydrogen Fuel Cells

 Natural Gas and Oil Pipelines

 Vaporization of Jet Fuel

 Injectable Pharmaceutical

 Shear Thickening Fluids

 Standard Reference Materials
102

Injectable Pharmaceutical Formulation Challenges...

What is in an injectable therapeutic?

• Therapeutic Protein/Drug

• Buffer

• Tonicity Agent (Ionic/Nonionic)

• Surfactant

• Antimicrobial Preservative

Requirements...

• No ‘large’ aggregates

• Stabilized proteins

• No microbial growth

Eli Lilly and Company Pharmaceuticals
Neutron Research 

 Hydrogen Fuel Cells

 Natural Gas and Oil Pipelines

 Vaporization of Jet Fuel

 Injectable Pharmaceutical (Eli Lilly)

 Shear Thickening Fluids

 Standard Reference Materials
Shear Thickening Fluid
Three layers of untreated ballistic nylon
Two layers treated with STF polymer 
STF Technologies

 Medical Gloves

 Liquid Armor for Military & Police

 Space Suits

 Athletic Safety 

 Athletic Clothing (Reebok)
Neutron Research 

 Hydrogen Fuel Cells

 Natural Gas and Oil Pipelines

 Vaporization of Jet Fuel

 Injectable Pharmaceutical (Eli Lilly)

 Shear Thickening Fluids

 Standard Reference Materials
Standard Reference 

Materials (SRMs) 

Measured by Neutrons

Group 5, Chemical Sciences Division

Material Measurement Lab
NIST SRMs 

are 

Measured 

for:

NIST Measures for:

Concentration, Homogeneity, Stability 

(and much more!)

Measurements involve bench scientists, topic 

area specialists, statisticians, and support staff 

(storage and distribution of SRMs).

Requires two (2), independent certifying 

measurement methods:

Example:

ICP-MS and Neutron Analytical Methods

Average of apx. 5 years between SRM proposal 

and market availability.
SRM 2454a –

H in Ti Alloy

• Developed in collaboration 

between NIST and industry 

stakeholders in 2010’s

• Uptake of H by Ti alloys can 

cause embrittlement, leading 

to material failure

• Ti alloys are used in 

automobiles and airplanes

• Two certifying methods:

• Inert gas fusion with thermal 

conductivity detection and 

standard additions calibration

• Prompt Gamma Activation 

Analysis
SRM 2173 –

Boron in Si 

Wafer

• Developed in collaboration 

between NIST and 

semiconductor industry 

stakeholders in 2010’s

• Boron is a common dopant in 

semiconductor materials and 

used to control electrical 

properties

• Two certifying methods:

• Scanning Ion Mass Spec.

• Neutron Depth Profiling
Summary

 Tried to give you a flavor of some of the things 

NIST does

 And some examples of the research and 

technology being done at the NIST Center for 

Neutron Research 

 And now I’m getting hungry.
Thank You for Your Attention

Further information is available 

https://www.nist.gov/people/jeffrey-w-lynn

NCNR homepage: https://www.nist.gov/ncnr

NIST homepage: https://www.nist.gov/