MOSCOW, July 3To answer the key questions of modern science, researchers from all over the world come together to create mega-science projects. Next year, Russia will launch the Siberian Ring Photon Source (SKIF). Aleksey Gogolev, Head of Advanced Research Department at TPU, said what experiments will be carried out at this facility and what knowledge scientists intend to gain.
– Last year, Tomsk Polytechnic University became one of the developers of equipment for the megascience facility, SKIF. What achievements have allowed you to become a member of this project?
— SKIF is a synchrotron, an electron accelerator. In the process of moving along curved trajectories in bending magnets and plug-in devices (undulators or wigglers), electrons emit powerful synchrotron radiation, which is used as a tool for studying the properties of matter.
Accompanying bremsstrahlung and scattered electrons, interacting with the substance of the environment, can excite atomic nuclei in it, so the installation refers to radiation objects.
Some people still think that working with atomic energy is a high-risk area, but it all depends on the experience of researchers and the technologies used. The practice of TPU confirms that the nuclear potential opens up wide scientific and industrial opportunities.
And here we definitely have something to share with the SKIF development team — we have a 70-year history of working with nuclear energy, and our university is the only university in the country that has its own functioning training reactor.
Thanks to this scientific potential, we produce small-sized accelerators and X-ray machines , and on the mentioned reactor we modify materials, such as silicon, for the production of electronics.
In addition, the university has a unique case in practice, which will be useful in further work with the equipment of the mega-science facility. It was on the basis of TPU in the USSR that the predecessor of SKIF, the SIRIUS synchrotron (Siberian Resonant Pulse Accelerator), was developed, assembled and launched.
For a certain period of time, this installation became the most powerful in the world.
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– What will be done within such a large mega-science project university scientists?
— Our area of responsibility is the station for the study of the smallest objects «Microfocus». We will test radiation registration methods at the university, test various detectors that will help in visualizing the samples and processes under study.
Of course, the work will not be limited to this, university specialists are already creating software for recording and processing large data streams from detectors for station, plus some of the detectors are products of our production.
In the near future, the Tomsk Polytechnic University team will conduct the first tests of its own registration systems. One of its main purposes is to visualize the radiation beam during initial debugging and measure its parameters. And when SKIF is launched, these detectors will be able to work as part of high-resolution radiography and tomography systems.
– Tell us a little more about the benefits of Microfocus.
– The uniqueness of the Microfocus station is already defined in its name. The dimensions of the radiation beam focused by it will reach fractions of microns (50–200 nm). Such a high spatial resolution will make it possible to conduct many detailed experiments at the nanoscale.
At the same time, the most detailed analysis will not create the danger of destruction of the studied samples, which will allow you to safely work with especially fragile or valuable objects.
I want to emphasize that we are talking about a qualitatively different analysis compared to those available to us now. It will be possible not only to examine the object in detail, but also to determine the location of accumulations of specific chemical elements and microinclusions of minerals in it.
When irradiation is started, the system will allow you to immediately test the distribution of the elemental composition in the substance, visualize how the most rapid chemical reactions take place.
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– What kind of experiments will be launched at the SKIF stations and how do you assess its potential role for science and society?
– During the research, the scientific community will receive complex knowledge about the arrangement of atoms and molecules in relation to each other, it may be possible to establish relationships between the features of the structure, density, even color of a particular material and the specifics of its internal structure.
Using all the advantages of synchrotron radiation, we will be able to study how matter changes under extreme conditions, at temperature and pressure, as in the Earth's core.
In turn, this will give us the opportunity to create new alloys, polymers, components for modern technology, realizing they have the desired properties based on the patterns found.
SKIF's tools will be especially valuable in the study of rare earth metals, which are now in demand in electronics. With the help of the synchrotron, we will get full information about their most valuable features for the industry, understand what they depend on, and, perhaps, create more affordable alternatives.
And of course, it is worth mentioning phenomenal speed among the key priorities . Just imagine that twenty years ago it took years to decipher any crystal structure, and SKIF will do it in a few seconds.
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– For whom will SKIF opportunities be available?
– Both for scientists and students. Of course, to work at the synchrotron stations, you need special experience, so in the fall of 2023 we are launching a new master's track «High Energy Physics». Students from this direction will be able to master the necessary skills to work not only at SKIF, but also at other megascience facilities.
Students will also have the opportunity to receive practical training in the design, development and implementation of synchrotron research stations. Future specialists will be able to create an individual learning path from research, engineering and interdisciplinary subjects.
I hope that such wide opportunities will help young people see that science provides great opportunities and perspectives. We are approaching completely new knowledge, and already new generations of professionals will form the scientific schools of tomorrow.