The Măgurele high-power laser system, an opportunity for science
Tests on the high power laser system in Măgurele, near Bucharest, will start in the near future.
Roxana Vasile, 08.06.2017, 13:18
In Măgurele, near Bucharest, tests will start soon on the future high-power laser system called Extreme Light Infrastructure measuring 10 petawatts, a petwatt amounting to 10 multiplied by 15 watts. In a show that Radio Romania produced for the first time at the “Horia Hulubei” Physics and Engineering Institute, the institute’s director, Nicolae Zamfir, estimated that experiments could start in January 2019. Until then, they will be working on mounting the equipment and setting up the team of specialists.
Nicole Zamfir: “We are now in the second stage of the project. In the first stage we had to find the premises and a building for the laser facility. In the second stage we are starting to mount the big-size equipment, the high-power laser system and the Gama system and we will also make arrangements for experiments. In the third stage we will test the equipment, set it in operation to get ready for the operation stage”.
A team of experts from all over the world that are fascinated by the possibilities offered by science, will be set up. Many international experts have already confirmed participation in the Măgurele team.
Nicolae Zamfir : “All we have to do is to prepare the equipment and the experiments, set up the team, the internal rules and adapt the external rules. As regards the preparation of experiments, we will certainly cooperate with our collaborators from all over the world, who will be working as part of the ELI team. Forming the team is no easy thing. We are trying to get the best specialists from all over the world and make them work together.”
These people with different cultural backgrounds, with different education, will have to be able to work coherently within the ELI team. Professor Kazuo Tanaka of Japan is the scientific director of the Măgurele high-power laser system and he explained that what he attracted him to Măgurele was the prospect of new experiences, the future social benefits and the complexity of the whole laser system. According to Professor Tanaka, this is an unprecedented laser system. While they will be looking for new means of scientific study and new applications, that have not yet been experimented in the US, in Japan or anywhere else in the world, experts will be able to study the nuclear processes of metaphysics and those for producing medical radioactive isotopes for curing cancer. Professor Tanaka says that all the big experts of the world are happy to work together in this research center.”
According to Nicolae Zamfir, the director of the “Horia Hulubei” Physics and Engineering Institute, all the equipment in Măgurele is totally new for experts, therefore the work of the ELI team is going to be challenging and extraordinary.
(Translated by Lacramioara Simion)
