China Spallation Neutron Source [IMAGE: CAS]

The second phase construction of the China Spallation Neutron Source project commenced in Dongguan, South China’s Guangdong Province, on March 30. This phase will build 11 neutron spectrometers and experimental terminals based on the existing completed first phase facility.

This year, the construction of major scientific facilities in China has been progressing steadily. In the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a number of large scientific facilities have been planned around key disciplines such as information, materials, oceanography and energy. These include advanced attosecond laser facilities, high-intensity heavy ion accelerators, and cold spring ecosystem research facilities.

Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility [IMAGE: CAS]

A national major scientific and technological infrastructure project for crop phenomics research (the “Shennong Facility”) was launched in Wuhan, Hubei Province and will become the first large scientific facility in China’s agricultural sector upon completion. In Shanghai’s Zhangjiang Science City, the Shanghai High Repetition Rate X-ray FEL and Extreme Light Facility is under construction, and the second phase of the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility is scheduled for national acceptance this year, marking formation of a cluster of the world’s largest, most comprehensive, and strongest photon science facilities.

LHAASO [IMAGE: CAS]

The operational large scientific facilities have led to a series of major innovative achievements. Based on observations made by China’s Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory (LHAASO), scientists recently identified for the first time a particular star-forming region as one source of the cosmic rays in the Milky Way with an energy level higher than 10 peta-electron volts (quadrillion electron volts or PeV). The Chinese superheavy element research accelerator set a new world record for operating beam parameters among similar facilities, providing crucial conditions for the discovery of new elements in the eighth period of the periodic table. With its ultra-high sensitivity, China’s FAST radio telescope since its operation has detected over 890 pulsars, more than three times the combined total detected by similar telescopes abroad.

FAST [IMAGE: CAS]

By the end of 2023, China had planned and constructed 77 national major scientific infrastructures, with 35 already operational, some of which have entered the global forefront.

Source: CCTV