12 ORNL Analysis Metallic Specimen
AI Summary
Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen 012 Page determined to be Unclassified Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841 (a)(1)(C) Date: 02/06/2025 All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office Chief of Staff, AARO Authority: FY24 NDAA, now codified at 44 U.S.C. 2107 Date: 02/06/2025 Released in Full: ____X___; Released in Part ______ Case Number: 330UAP000012 1 Introduction The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) sponsored a series of measurements on a layered materia
Key Findings
NARA NAID 493468580 · RG 615
OCR Text
Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen 012 Page determined to be Unclassified Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841 (a)(1)(C) Date: 02/06/2025 All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office Chief of Staff, AARO Authority: FY24 NDAA, now codified at 44 U.S.C. 2107 Date: 02/06/2025 Released in Full: ____X___; Released in Part ______ Case Number: 330UAP000012 1 Introduction The All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) sponsored a series of measurements on a layered material specimen primarily composed of magnesium and zinc, with bands of bismuth and other co-located trace elements. The material specimen, whose origin and purpose are of long and debated history, is claimed to be recovered from an unidentified anomalous phenomenon (UAP) crash in or around 1947. Furthermore, the specimen’s physiochemical properties are claimed to make the material capable of “inertial mass reduction” (i.e., levitation or antigravity functionality), possibly attributable to the material’s bismuth and magnesium layers acting as a terahertz waveguide. Previously, US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) established a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with To the Stars Academy (TTSA) to evaluate the feasibility of exploiting any potential disruptive technology associated with this widely discussed specimen. AARO, founded in 2022, is congressionally mandated to explore historical records of UAP incidents and publicly report its findings. Although the long chain of custody for this specimen cannot be verified, public and media interest in the specimen warranted a transparent investigation that adhered to the scientific method. Subsequent to the TTSA–DEVCOM CRADA, AARO secured science and technology partner Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), one of 17 US Department of Energy national laboratories, to independently assess and perform thorough characterization studies on the specimen, leveraging ORNL’s 80-year history of world-leading materials science expertise. ORNL, an expert in materials characterization, has the diverse staff expertise and co-located, powerful instrumentation suites to allow rigorous scientific inquiry beyond the capabilities of most individual laboratories. Therefore, it is a highly qualified institution to maintain scientific integrity in its unbiased analysis of this specimen and its properties. AARO tasked ORNL with assessing whether (1) the specimen is of terrestrial origin and (2) the bismuth in the specimen could act as a terahertz waveguide. DEVCOM Ground Vehicle System Center provided ORNL access to the metallic specimen—a single parent sample and three previously derived subsamples, all from the same material—beginning in February 2023. ORNL materials science analyses evaluated the sample’s structure, chemical composition, and isotope ratios via multiple methods, including microscopy, spectroscopy, and spectrometry. Results align with previous DEVCOM analyses, indicating that the structure and composition of the bismuth layers do not meet the requirements necessary to serve as a terahertz waveguide. Furthermore, all data strongly support that the material is terrestrial in origin. Figure 1. View of the as-received bulk specimen. Sticker containing internal sample tracking information edited out for public release. 012 Page determined to be Unclassified Reviewed by Chief of Staff, AARO IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841 (a)(1)(C) Date: 02/06/2025 Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen 2 Methods All analyses and materials utilization were authorized and overseen by TTSA via the DEVCOM CRADA, and all analyses were preapproved by AARO and DEVCOM before ORNL received the specimen. Morphology and microstructural characteristics were investigated using the following techniques. •Optical microscopy: standard microscope analysis that allows imaging of microstructural features. •Computerized tomography, aka CT scan: X-ray imaging procedure that produces a 3D image of a sample without damaging it, revealing interior structural features. •Scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS): technique that produces 2D images at higher resolution to allow analysis of microstructure and elemental makeup. •(Scanning) transmission electron microscopy–energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy ([S]TEM-EDS): a suite of techniques that pass a high-energy (e.g., 200 kV) electron beam through a thin (<200 nm) foil of sample, allowing analysis of crystal structure, grain and feature morphology, and defects, as well as elemental makeup, all with nanometer to subnanometer resolution. Analyses of bulk chemical, elemental, and isotopic composition used mass spectrometry techniques, a suite of widely used analytical techniques that identify elements, their abundance within a sample (including very trace quantities), and their isotopic com…
Metadata
- Agency
- Department of Defense. Office of the Secretary of Defense. (09/18/1947 - )
- Classification
- UNCLASSIFIED
- Department
- Department of Defense. Office of the Secretary of Defense. (09/18/1947 - )
- Catalog source
- View NARA catalog record
NARA Source
- NAID
- 493468580
- File
- 12_ORNL_Analysis_Metallic_Specimen.pdf
- Type
- application/pdf
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