China's largest scientific apparatus under construction

Edited and translated by Yao Chun, People's Daily Online

Construction began in Guangzhou on Oct. 20 on what will be China's largest piece of scientific equipment.

The construction of the Spallation Neutron Source, an accelerator-based device that emits neutrons, will notably promote the basic research of forward and high-technology subjects, such materials, life and nano sciences, reducing the gap between China and other advanced countries in these fields.

The Spallation Neutron Source is an instrument used to explore microcosmic environments with the help of neutrons. According to academician Chen Desheng, director of the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Spallation Neutron Source project manager, the Spallation Neutron Source is just like a hyper-microscope with which we can study the micro structures of DNA, crystal materials and polymers. It is an advanced and irreplaceable tool in the research of subjects such as energy, life, nano and materials sciences.

The Spallation Neutron Source of China is the first one in a developing country, and it will become one of the four largest spallation neutron sources in the world.