The ISIS Second Target Station Project at the STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire achieved a major milestone on Friday 14 December, at the first attempt and two days ahead of schedule. Protons were successfully extracted into the new proton transfer beamline from the existing ISIS accelerator and delivered to the new target station.
The £140 million Second Target Station Project will double the capacity of the world-leading ISIS research centre and significantly increase its capability for nanoscience applications. It will open for experiments in Autumn 2008 and is expected to operate for at least 20 years.
The high energy beam of protons will be used to release neutrons from a tungsten target. By scattering these neutrons off sample materials, scientists can visualise the positions and motions of atoms. The technique is non-destructive and can be used to study everything from delicate biological specimens to priceless archaeological artefacts.
Professor Keith Mason, CEO of the Science and Technology Facilities Council said “The ISIS Second Target Station will keep us at the forefront of materials research, enabling UK scientists to make breakthroughs that will underpin the next generation of super-fast computers, data storage, sensors, pharmaceutical and medical applications, materials processing, catalysis, biotechnology and clean energy technology.”
During the test, bunches of protons travelling at 84% of the speed of light were transferred from the circular ISIS synchrotron accelerator into the 143m long proton beamline. They were guided by a sequence of 57 steering and focusing magnets onto a graphite test target located inside the new target station. The arrival of the protons was detected by measuring the electrical current induced in the target and the beam profiles along the length of the beam line were checked.
“The ISIS Second Target Station is a part of the much needed expansion of facilities at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory to meet modern science challenges across a range of research disciplines. The project is on time and on budget. Following a five year construction schedule, we expect to generate our first neutrons in June 2008 and open for experiments in the autumn of 2008.” said ISIS Director Dr Andrew Taylor.
Source: Science and Technology Facilities Council
Related stories:
First neutrons created at the ISIS Second Target Station
The UK's ISIS Second Target Station Project moved a major step closer to completion today when the first neutrons were created in the ISIS Second Target Station. After five years of planning and construction, the first neutrons were detected by the Inter instrument at 1308 BST. ISIS, the world-renowned neutron facility at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire, is operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council.
A glass apart
British scientists are developing a new type of glass that can dissolve and release calcium into the body. This will enable patients to regrow bones and could signal a move away from bone transplants.
Building blocks of life
The £140 million construction of the ISIS Second Target Station at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire is nearing completion. The largest science construction project in the UK, it is on time and on budget.
Massive vacuum vessel arrives for world-leading neutron source
A massive vacuum vessel for the new scientific instrument Merlin is being delivered to the ISIS Neutron Source at the CCLRC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire on Thursday 12 January.
Britain's top prizes for physics announced
Research that revealed for the first time that the Earth’s core is almost as hot as the Sun, groundbreaking new work on cosmic strings and black holes, and a scientist who believes he could build a viable desktop quantum computer by 2010, have won Britain’s most prestigious prizes for physics, the Institute of Physics Awards 2006.
NASA delays Hubble mission 2 days due to storms
(AP) -- NASA has delayed next month's space shuttle launch to the Hubble Space Telescope by two days.
Consumers picked to test hydrogen car prototypes
(AP) -- Tom Albert drove his loaner Chevrolet Equinox like any other car. He took it to work during the week, picked up groceries, and loaded up the back with bags of soil at the garden store. When his infant son was fussy, Albert drove the newborn around the block to calm him down.
Space Shuttle successor will not fly before 2014: NASA
NASA announced it has pushed back the launch of the Orion, the spacecraft designed to replace the agency's aging space shuttle fleet, by one year to 2014.