Scientists unleash the power of neutrons to improve understanding of everyday materials and solve fundamental questions in physics. Flashbacks sparked by Netflix’s hit series Breaking Bad aside, most of us have probably happily forgotten what we learned in chemistry class in school.

Here’s a quick update: Chemistry looks at the building blocks of our physical world, such as atoms, and the changes they undergo. An atom consists of a nucleus of protons and neutrons surrounded by a cloud of electrons.

release neutrons

And now for something high school chemistry might not have taught us: The humble neutron found in the nucleus of every atom except hydrogen – if managed properly – can shed light on everything from the climate crisis and energy to health and quantum. energy. calculation.

One such path goes through a rather fascinating process known as fission, in which high-energy particles destabilize an atom’s nucleus, which in turn releases some of the neutrons present there. Once these newly released neutrons are depleted, they can be used as X-rays to map the internal structure of materials.

The European Spallation Welding (ESS), currently under construction in Lund, Sweden, is expected to be operational in 2027. Once fully characterized, its unprecedented flux and spectral range will make it the most powerful and versatile neutron source for science. In the world.

According to Jimmy Binderup Andersen, Head of Innovation and Industry at ESS, the goal of the facility is to “create neutrons, a beam of neutrons to be used for scientific purposes.” Once the facility is up and running, scientists from across Europe and the rest of the world will be able to use 15 different beamlines to conduct basic research.

not x-ray

According to Andersen, a neutron beam “is not the same as an X-ray, but is complementary and uses some of the same laws of physics.” Like X-rays, neutrons can be used to study materials and biological systems. But unlike photons in high-energy X-rays, they interact with materials and therefore provide different kinds of information about their targets.

For example, neutron beams can tell us something about the internal dynamics of lithium-ion batteries, reveal hidden details of antiquities, or clarify the mechanisms of bacteria’s resistance to antibiotics. They can also be used to study fundamental physics. It’s almost like “what can’t they do?”

neutron bombardment

As part of the EU-funded BrightnESS-2 project, partially coordinated by Andersen, technologies developed for the ESS were transferred to European industry for the benefit of society as a whole. For example, some power systems developed for ESS beamlines can be beneficial for renewable energy technologies such as wind turbines.

Recently, a European semiconductor manufacturer interested in the radiation fields that a neutron source can create contacted ESS. The world we live in is constantly bombarded by neutrons produced when high-energy particles from outer space, such as cosmic rays from the Sun, collide with the Earth’s atmosphere. Over time, this exposure can damage electrical components.

ESS can simulate this neutron bombardment, but on a much faster time scale, allowing it to be used to test the durability of critical electrical components such as those used in aircraft, wind turbines and spacecraft.

The ESS is currently collaborating with other research institutes and companies to find possible future uses for a facility like the ESS to meet such specific industry needs.

HOW 2.0

Although the ESS is still under construction, scientists are already working to upgrade the facility. ESS will have a moderator when it first opens, but the EU-funded HighNESS project is developing a second moderator system. Moderators will slow down the neutrons produced during the fission process to an energy level that can be used by scientific instruments.

“Neutron energy is really important in a neutron facility because you can do different types of physics depending on the neutron energy,” said HighNESS project coordinator Valentina Santoro.

The first moderator will provide high brightness, a very focused neutron beam, while the source developed by the HighNESS project will provide high intensity. In other words, lots of neutrons. The two moderators will allow scientists to explore different aspects of the dynamics and structure of materials such as polymers, biomolecules, liquid metals and batteries.

A basic mystery

The second moderator will also allow exploration of fundamental physics to try to see for the first time how a neutron becomes an antineutron.

“This is very interesting because you’re observing a phenomenon where matter turns into antimatter,” said Santoro, a particle physicist at the ESS. “If you observe something like this, you can understand one of the biggest unsolved mysteries – why there is more matter than antimatter in the universe.”

Santoro said that this experiment can only be done on ESS because it requires a large number of neutrons, and ESS will have the largest number in the world.

“You only need one neutron to become an antineutron and that’s it, you’ve found this process where matter becomes antimatter,” Santoro said.