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YEREVAN PHYSICS INSTITUTE INAUGURATES NEW CYCLOTRON
Friday, December 19th, 2014
http://asbarez.com/130080/yerevan-physics-institute-inaugurates-new-cyclotron/
The President of Armenia Serzh Sarkisian and other government
officials and clergy at the accelerator building's groundbreaking
ceremony. Oct. 2012.
YEREVAN--The Alikhanyan National Laboratory in Yerevan (Yerevan Physics
Institute) will soon take delivery of a new 18 MeV (million electron
volt) cyclotron for a modern diagnostic center funded by the Armenian
government. The cyclotron is purchased from a Belgian Company (IBA)
and the plan is to start installation of the new 18 MeV cyclotron in
January of 2015. The cyclotron will be placed in a newly constructed,
specially designed building on the grounds of the laboratory. The
new cyclotron, the Cyclone 18, is one of the most modern cyclotrons
produced today in the world. The cyclotron will produce negative
proton beams of 18 MeV and deuteron beams of up to 10 MeV energies.
The new cyclotron, in addition to providing short-lived radioactive
isotopes for positron-electron tomography, will also be used to expand
the capability of the Yerevan Physics Institute in nuclear physics
research and the applications of nuclear science to society. The
science questions explored at Yerevan Physics Institute will range
from studying the stellar nuclear reactions which are essential to
the formation of the solar system and to understanding the conditions
responsible for life on earth, as well as applying the techniques
and tools of nuclear science towards understanding early human
development. This science is also applicable to environmental science
and the dating of art and archeological artifacts. This will expand the
capabilities of Armenia in medical treatment and diagnostic techniques.
The accelerator building
This type of cyclotron is being implemented worldwide to produce
radio-isotopes for hospitals and research centers all over the world.
The production of radio-isotopes in Yerevan will provide services
that presently do not exist to patients in Armenia and potentially
provide sales to neighboring countries. The cyclotron will place
Armenia amongst a select list of the world's countries with their own
production of radio-isotopes that can be used in medical diagnostics
and therapy. The cyclotrons are also very versatile and can be used to
carry out basic nuclear research. Some recent proposals by scientists
at the Yerevan Physics Institute, and approved by the Ministry of
Science and Education, include using the proton beams to study the
"Hoyle" state, which is the resonance state that captures an alpha
particle to make Oxygen and hence facilitated the origin of life
in our cosmos. The state was discovered more than 50 years ago, but
remains a challenge in physics worldwide. Scientists at the Institute
propose to measure the decay of the Hoyle state.
Another example of the kind of research that can be done at the
Institute with the new C-18 Cyclotron is the conversion of the proton
beam into a neutron beam for use for a broad class of studies and
experiments. Neutrons are fundamental particles that make up the
atomic nucleus along with protons. The properties of neutrons such
as their charge neutrality makes them ideal probes to peer inside
all types of matter, including properties of nuclei and various
types of dense matter. Wavelengths of neutron are about the same as
the distances between atoms making them an ideal tool to the study
of engineering of materials, as well as biological, chemical, and
physical systems. Neutrons and the likelihood of various materials
to absorb neutrons (cross-sections) are important to answering a
broad range of open questions from astrophysics, nuclear physics,
and material science. The production of a neutron beam at the Yerevan
Physics Institute will be an important experimental tool for the
country of Armenia. Other societal applications of Nuclear Physics
include energy, climate physics, physics of art, and archeology.
Friday, December 19th, 2014
http://asbarez.com/130080/yerevan-physics-institute-inaugurates-new-cyclotron/
The President of Armenia Serzh Sarkisian and other government
officials and clergy at the accelerator building's groundbreaking
ceremony. Oct. 2012.
YEREVAN--The Alikhanyan National Laboratory in Yerevan (Yerevan Physics
Institute) will soon take delivery of a new 18 MeV (million electron
volt) cyclotron for a modern diagnostic center funded by the Armenian
government. The cyclotron is purchased from a Belgian Company (IBA)
and the plan is to start installation of the new 18 MeV cyclotron in
January of 2015. The cyclotron will be placed in a newly constructed,
specially designed building on the grounds of the laboratory. The
new cyclotron, the Cyclone 18, is one of the most modern cyclotrons
produced today in the world. The cyclotron will produce negative
proton beams of 18 MeV and deuteron beams of up to 10 MeV energies.
The new cyclotron, in addition to providing short-lived radioactive
isotopes for positron-electron tomography, will also be used to expand
the capability of the Yerevan Physics Institute in nuclear physics
research and the applications of nuclear science to society. The
science questions explored at Yerevan Physics Institute will range
from studying the stellar nuclear reactions which are essential to
the formation of the solar system and to understanding the conditions
responsible for life on earth, as well as applying the techniques
and tools of nuclear science towards understanding early human
development. This science is also applicable to environmental science
and the dating of art and archeological artifacts. This will expand the
capabilities of Armenia in medical treatment and diagnostic techniques.
The accelerator building
This type of cyclotron is being implemented worldwide to produce
radio-isotopes for hospitals and research centers all over the world.
The production of radio-isotopes in Yerevan will provide services
that presently do not exist to patients in Armenia and potentially
provide sales to neighboring countries. The cyclotron will place
Armenia amongst a select list of the world's countries with their own
production of radio-isotopes that can be used in medical diagnostics
and therapy. The cyclotrons are also very versatile and can be used to
carry out basic nuclear research. Some recent proposals by scientists
at the Yerevan Physics Institute, and approved by the Ministry of
Science and Education, include using the proton beams to study the
"Hoyle" state, which is the resonance state that captures an alpha
particle to make Oxygen and hence facilitated the origin of life
in our cosmos. The state was discovered more than 50 years ago, but
remains a challenge in physics worldwide. Scientists at the Institute
propose to measure the decay of the Hoyle state.
Another example of the kind of research that can be done at the
Institute with the new C-18 Cyclotron is the conversion of the proton
beam into a neutron beam for use for a broad class of studies and
experiments. Neutrons are fundamental particles that make up the
atomic nucleus along with protons. The properties of neutrons such
as their charge neutrality makes them ideal probes to peer inside
all types of matter, including properties of nuclei and various
types of dense matter. Wavelengths of neutron are about the same as
the distances between atoms making them an ideal tool to the study
of engineering of materials, as well as biological, chemical, and
physical systems. Neutrons and the likelihood of various materials
to absorb neutrons (cross-sections) are important to answering a
broad range of open questions from astrophysics, nuclear physics,
and material science. The production of a neutron beam at the Yerevan
Physics Institute will be an important experimental tool for the
country of Armenia. Other societal applications of Nuclear Physics
include energy, climate physics, physics of art, and archeology.