China has begun to increase its neutron source, a large scientific facility known as a “super microscope” that probes the structure of the microscopic world to help drive scientific and technological innovation.
Construction of Phase II of the China Neutron Spallation Source (CSNS), the country’s first research center to provide the most powerful pulsed neutron beam for scientific research, has begun in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, southern China.
The source’s proton beam power, one of the facility’s key performance indicators, is expected to increase from 100 kilowatts to 500 kilowatts, said Wang Sheng, deputy director of the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP) of the Chinese Academy. Science (CAS) and Project Director.
According to Wang, the construction of CSNS Phase II will take five years and nine months.
The scope and capabilities of CSNS will greatly increase after the completion of Phase II, and the number of experiments will greatly increase to support scientific research and economic development, Wang said.
The construction of the CSS series began in September 2011, with a total investment of 2.3 billion yuan ($323 million).
Launched in August 2018, it became the first pulse scattering neutron source in China, filling a gap in China’s pulse neutron application and becoming the fourth to appear in the UK, US and Japan.
Focusing on basic and applied research, CSNS has been used to carry out original and innovative research in many fields such as magnetic materials, nano functional materials and polymers for the past five years, and has achieved several important scientific achievements.
The project covers a wide range of areas. The most prominent ones are in energy materials such as lithium-ion batteries, shale materials, hydrogen storage materials, and combustible ice.
Last year, CSSS worked more than 5,000 hours.
The Greater Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area is becoming one of the most important scientific and technological infrastructure areas in China. As the first national science and technology infrastructure in the region, CSSS strongly supports the establishment of a comprehensive national science center and an international innovation center there.
