Office of the Secretary of Defense: 12_ORNL_Analysis_Metallic_Specimen

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: 02/06/2025Synopsis: Analysis of a Metallic Specimen