Visit to Argonne—II: Solid-State, Atomic and Nuclear Physics
Besides its high-energy-physics research (PHYSICS TODAY, February, page 57) Argonne National Laboratory has strong programs in nuclear, atomic and solid-state physics, and it is building a high-flux research reactor. During a recent visit there we spoke to some of the people in charge of these programs.
The Physics Division, headed by Lowell Bollinger, has four major programs: theoretical (mainly nuclear), charged-particle nuclear-reaction physics, neutron physics and atomic physics. In the early days of Argonne the division also included other groups, Bollinger told us, but they were spun off when they grew large; these included reactor physics, applied mathematics, accelerator design (now part of high-energy physics) and highenergy theory.