The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center turns 50! Listen now

The Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) turns 50 this year! On June 9, 1972, the facility's powerful proton linear accelerator reached an astounding 800 mega electron volts.

The exciting part? LANSCE isn’t just getting older — it’s getting better. “How ingenious were those who designed the accelerator. They designed this accelerator to grow … to have plenty of possibilities,” said Anna Llobet Megias, a Los Alamos National Laboratory R&D scientist who has been at LANSCE for 19 years. “LANSCE still has a lot to offer, and I’m very excited about the future in front of us.”

Tune in to the latest episode of the National Security Science podcast for highlights of the various ways this multipurpose facility supports the Lab's important national security work. 

Want to know more about this major experimental science facility? Visit the Bradbury’s LANSCE exhibit.

For even more LANSCE history, check out these articles on the Los Alamos Meson Physics Facility (before LAMPF was renamed LANSCE):

“LAMPF Accelerator Reaches Full Energy,” The Atom, July-August 1972

“LAMPF: a dream and a gamble,” Los Alamos Science, winter-spring 1983