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LUND, Sweden—Local scientists were pleased when it became clear last week that the small university city of Lund in the south of Sweden is most likely to win the race for a large-scale neutron research facility, a so-called neutron spallation source. Other competitors include Spain and Hungary.
ESS (European Spallation Source) is a joint European research project involving six out of nine countries backing Lund. It is therefore considered highly unlikely that the facility will be built anywhere else.
During spallation a proton beam is passed through an accelerator many times. When the accelerated protons strike a target, large numbers of neutrons are released. The neutrons have a broad range of uses.
Neutrons are highly useful for examining materials and structures that are within an object, similar to x-rays. The more neutrons that are passed through the object, the more detailed the information that becomes available. This new generation technique is like a photo-flash if the old technique is a candle.
Neutrons allow scientists to observe things on a molecular level, anything from medicines to plastics to proteins. A machine can be observed from the inside while still running and archeological materials can be examined non-destructively, scientists say.
The U.S. and Japan already have facilities using this new technology, and now a majority of the European ministers responsible for science think that Lund should be the place for a European facility, which will become a center for several scientific disciplines, advanced research, and industrial development.
Colin Carlile, president of ESS Scandinavia was happy about the clear majority for Lund. “This means that the site for ESS is decided. It is a major step for European science and tomorrow's scientists.”
Sweden will finance 30 percent of the construction, which is estimated at 13 billion SEK (approximately $1.7 billon U.S.). Denmark and Norway will also help finance the project.
Not everyone is happy about the decision, however. Apart from safety and environmental concerns, some are worried that ESS projects will mean fewer funds for other Swedish scientific research projects. Karolinska Institutet, a renowned scientific institution, presented their view in 2005 that sources other than neutron spallation technology had bigger potential for research and practical applications.
Around 2020 many of the older facilities in Europe will be shut down, so the new facility will have to be ready before that time.
