Sapphire Pipe Dream Becomes a Reality

[Marlin]

Sapphire Pipe Dream Becomes a Reality

https://www.pnnl.gov/news-media/sapphire-pipe-dream-becomes-reality

[Core Content]

Photo of Sapphire 1700 mass spectrometer

Researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have installed a custom mass spectrometer capable of measuring all uranium and plutonium isotopes simultaneously. The instrument, designated the Sapphire 1700, features twenty-two detectors and cuts sample analysis times nearly in half.

The device supports International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards by detecting potential misuse of nuclear materials and technologies from environmental samples. Funded by the National Nuclear Security Administration, the technology aims to improve the speed and accuracy of nuclear forensics and nonproliferation monitoring across international laboratory networks.

The Sapphire 1700 was installed in a lab at PNNL in 2025, the only mass spectrometer in the world that can measure all uranium and plutonium isotopes simultaneously at very low levels.

Megan Nims has worked alongside earth scientist Eirik Krogstad for many years. Yet, she was still surprised when he shared a dream about a sophisticated mass spectrometer unlike anything that existed.

"Looking back, it was one of those sparks of creative genius that you're always lucky to encounter," said Nims, a chemist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL).

Read the full article at pnnl.gov:
https://www.pnnl.gov/news-media/sapphire-pipe-dream-becomes-reality