That and more. They have a mandate for nuclear nonproliferation, but it’s more accurate to think of them as America’s R&D lab. The National Labs are fucking incredible! They are so much more than the DoD’s innovation lab. They do a ton of research that isn’t possible for the private sector. They also own and make available equipment that is difficult for individuals to maintain for example: Fermilabs has a particular accelerator, Sandia has the Z machine and a MEMS foundry, and Oak Ridge has one of the most powerful supercomputers and several labs focusing on neutron and nuclear power. Fuck just look up the patents and Nobel Prizes for Lawrence Livermore, Argonne, and Los Alamos. Yes there is a ton of nuclear but they cover so much more. They’re amazing and a national treasure!
That and more. They have a mandate for nuclear nonproliferation, but it’s more accurate to think of them as America’s R&D lab. The National Labs are fucking incredible! They are so much more than the DoD’s innovation lab. They do a ton of research that isn’t possible for the private sector. They also own and make available equipment that is difficult for individuals to maintain for example: Fermilabs has a particular accelerator, Sandia has the Z machine and a MEMS foundry, and Oak Ridge has one of the most powerful supercomputers and several labs focusing on neutron and nuclear power. Fuck just look up the patents and Nobel Prizes for Lawrence Livermore, Argonne, and Los Alamos. Yes there is a ton of nuclear but they cover so much more. They’re amazing and a national treasure!