ANSTO’s Bragg Institute has begun commissioning one of the world’s most advanced neutron scattering instruments. Named “Bilby”, the new instrument is expected to attract top researchers from around the world who use the technique known as small-angle neutron scattering, or SANS, to investigate structures at the nanoscale.
Major achievements in this field have included understanding viscosity in lubricants, solving the coarse structure of the ribosome in cells, understanding the nature and role of additives to tyres, and the porosity of sedimentary rocks in oil and gas reservoirs.
The features of Bilby will allow researchers to expand the range of scientific problems they can tackle, consolidating the Bragg Insitutute’s reputation as a world-class centre for neutron scattering.
Today, our new BILBY time-of-flight small-angle neutron scattering instrument received its first neutrons, as it moved into the "hot-commissioning" phase.
Congratulations to project manager Anna Sokolova, and everyone else involved in designing, constructing and installing BILBY which is the 3rd SANS instrument at OPAL, after QUOKKA and KOOKABURRA, and our 5th small-angle instrument (when one includes the 2 SAXS instruments).
BILBY is the 6th cold-neutron instrument at OPAL to accept neutrons.
Published: 22/02/2014