Russian Research Center (RNC) "Kurchatov Institute" is a leading domestic research institution in the field of nuclear energy. In the Soviet Union it was known as the Institute of Atomic Energy. Named after nuclear scientist Igor Kurchatov.
Quiet the atom
Founded National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute" in 1943 to develop nuclear weapons. Until 1955, it was known under the secret name "Laboratory No. 2 of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR". Most of the Soviet nuclear reactors were designed at the institute, including the F-1, which was the first reactor outside of North America.
Since 1955, fundamental experiments in the field of thermonuclear fusion and plasma physics have been carried out at the Kurchatov Institute. It was here that tokamak-type reactors were developed, including:
- "Tokamak T-3".
- "Tokamak T-4".
These reactors made it possible to conduct the world's first experiments to study the properties of plasma. T-4 was launched in 1968 inNovosibirsk, conducting the first quasi-stationary thermonuclear fusion reaction.
Pioneers of Science
The first director of the NRC "Kurchatov Institute" was A. A. Logunov - an outstanding Soviet theoretical physicist, rector of Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov from 1977 to 1992. It was under him that the institution became an independent world-class scientific center. Prior to this, for about a year, the Research Center was a branch of the Moscow Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, where the construction of the U-7 proton synchrotron (prototype U-70) began in 1958.
A larger project - a 50 GeV proton accelerator - was decided to be launched at another site, outside of Moscow. Many outstanding scientists and engineers of the institute were directly involved in its design and construction.
Creating a Science City
Fundamental research in the field of high-energy physics has always been closely connected with the development of atomic energy. Therefore, the head of Laboratory No. 2, I. V. Kurchatov, who stood at the origins of the Soviet atomic project, promoted research on accelerators in every possible way and developed them.
In the 50s, the idea arose to concentrate scientific work in one place. Kurchatov was one of those who actively supported the idea of building a 70 GeV proton superaccelerator near Serpukhov, intended for physical research. When choosing a base for the accelerator, about 40 sites in different parts of the country were examined. As a result, the choice fell on the site near Serpukhov, located on a very flat and hard rockybreed.
The whole city of Protvino was created precisely for the purpose of building the institute: in connection with this, the formation of urban infrastructure, social, cultural, household, energy and other spheres took place. No wonder the city has the status of a science city.
U-70 booster
In January 1960, a large-scale construction of the largest accelerator in the world at that time began near Serpukhov. During the construction, under the supervision of the National Research Center "Kurchatov Institute", the latest technologies were used. According to the memoirs of engineers, the accuracy of calculations and work during the laying of the ring was comparable to the calculation of the flight of a spacecraft. Thanks to these measurements, the builders closed the synchrotron tunnel with an accuracy of 3 mm.
The U-70 accelerator complex (at first it was called the Serpukhov Synchrophasotron) was built in 1967 under the leadership of A. A. Logunov. This is a huge super complex engineering system. It is a giant vacuum chamber around the circumference, rolled up into a ring and placed in an electromagnet weighing 20,000 tons. By the way, for five years (until 1972) it was the largest in the world.
The principle of the accelerator is as follows. When particles are accelerated to speeds close to the speed of light and interact with the target, a variety of secondary particles are born, which are recorded by the most sophisticated nuclear radiation detectors. After computer processing of experimental data, scientists restore the picture of the interaction of an accelerated particle with matter, drawing conclusions about the properties of intranuclear particles, aboutparameters of theoretical models of fundamental interactions.
Achievements and failures
Many studies on the U-70 (which are still going on at the institute today) are truly breakthrough. Already in the first experiments at the U-70 accelerator, helium-3 and tritium antinuclei were discovered, containing three antinucleons each. Later, more than 20 new particles with unique properties were discovered, thanks to which scientists were able to explain a number of processes occurring in the universe.
Shortly after that, a project was developed for a new accelerator - a proton-proton collider for an energy of 3 × 3 TeV, which would become the most powerful in the world. By the end of 1989, a significant part of the work was completed, the construction of a giant underground ring for the accelerator was almost completed. All work, unfortunately, had to be frozen and curtailed in the 90s. However, the experience of scientists and engineers who participated in the construction of the "Soviet collider" in Protvino later turned out to be very much in demand when creating the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.
Today
The Kurchatov Institute has 27 nuclear research reactors, of which 7 have been dismantled and one has been temporarily disabled. 19 reactors are still in operation according to the IAEA. The Kurchatov Institute cooperates with some of the leading Russian universities, such as:
- Lomonosov University.
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.
- Moscow State Technical University. Bauman.
On themthe basis of an interdisciplinary system of scientific training. For example, this led to the creation of departments of nanotechnology, biotechnology, computer science and cognitive science.
The Kurchatov Institute has doctoral studies (23 departments) and postgraduate studies, where they provide in-depth knowledge in 16 speci alties. The institution is the main scientific coordinator of activities in the field of nanobiotechnologies, nanosystems and nanomaterials in the Russian Federation. The Institute participates in several international research projects: CERN, XFEL, FAIR, the German-Russian laboratory for the use of synchrotron radiation and others. The main field of activity of the institution is research into the fundamental properties of matter and elementary particles using a charged particle accelerator.
Organizational structure
Until 1991, the Kurchatov Institute was subordinate to the Ministry of Atomic Energy. In November 1991, the institution was reorganized into the State Scientific Center, managed directly by the Russian government. In accordance with the organization's charter, its president is now appointed by the prime minister in accordance with the recommendations of Rosatom.
In February 2005, Mikhail Kovalchuk was appointed head of the institution. The Kurchatov Institute won a tender in February 2007 to become the main organization coordinating efforts in the field of nanotechnology in Russia.
