The Russian Research Center (RRC) “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 in honor of the nuclear scientist Igor Kurchatov.
Pacify the atom
The Kurchatov Institute National Research Center was founded in 1943 with the goal of developing nuclear weapons. Until 1955, it is known under the secret name "Laboratory No. 2 of the USSR Academy of Sciences." Most Soviet nuclear reactors were designed at the institute, including the F-1, which became 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 allowed the first world experiments to study the properties of plasma. The T-4 was launched in 1968 in Novosibirsk, conducting the first quasistationary fusion reaction.
Science pioneers
The first director of the Research Center “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. For about a year, SIC was a branch of the Moscow Institute of Theoretical and Experimental Physics, where construction of the U-7 proton synchrotron (prototype U-70) began in 1958.
A larger project - a proton accelerator of 50 GeV - was decided to be launched at another site, outside of Moscow. Many prominent scientists and engineers of the institute directly participated in its design and construction.
Creation of a science city
Fundamental research in the field of high-energy physics has always been closely linked to work on the development of atomic energy. Therefore, the head of Laboratory No. 2 I.V. Kurchatov, who was at the forefront of the Soviet atomic project, did everything possible to promote research on accelerators and to develop them.
In the 1950s, the idea arose to concentrate scientific work in one place. Kurchatov was one of those who actively supported the idea of constructing a 70 GeV proton accelerator near Serpukhov 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 solid rock.
The whole city of Protvino was created specifically for the tasks of building the institute: in connection with this, the formation of urban infrastructure, social, cultural, domestic, energy and other spheres took place. No wonder the city has the status of a science city.
Accelerator U-70
In January 1960, near Serpukhov, a large-scale construction project of the world's largest accelerator at that time began. During the construction, under the control of SIC Kurchatov Institute, the latest technologies were applied. According to the recollections of engineers, the accuracy of calculations and work when laying 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, highly sophisticated engineering system. It is a giant circular vacuum chamber, rolled into a ring and placed in an electromagnet weighing 20,000 tons. By the way, he was the largest in the world for five years (until 1972).
The principle of operation of the accelerator is as follows. When particles are accelerated to speeds close to the speed of light, and their interaction with the target, many different secondary particles are generated, which are detected by sophisticated nuclear radiation detectors. After computer processing of experimental data, scientists reconstruct the picture of the interaction of an accelerated particle with matter, making conclusions about the properties of intranuclear particles, about the parameters of theoretical models of fundamental interactions.
Achievements and Failures
Many studies on the U-70 (which are ongoing at the institute today) are truly breakthrough. Already in the first experiments at the U-70 accelerator, the helium-3 and tritium antinuclei containing three antinucleons were discovered. 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.
Soon after, a project was developed for a new accelerator - a proton-proton collider for energy 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 involved in the construction of the “Soviet collider” in Protvino was subsequently very popular in the creation of the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.
Today
The Kurchatov Institute has 27 nuclear research reactors, of which 7 are dismantled and one is temporarily shut down. 19 reactors are still in operation in accordance with IAEA data. The Kurchatov Institute collaborates with some leading Russian universities, such as:
- Lomonosov University.
- Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology.
- Moscow State Technical University Bauman.
Based on them, an interdisciplinary system of scientific training has been created. For example, this led to the creation of departments of nanotechnology, biotechnology, computer science and cognitive sciences.
The Kurchatov Institute has doctoral studies (23 departments) and postgraduate studies, which provide in-depth knowledge in 16 specialties. The institution is the main scientific coordinator of activities in the field of nanobiotechnology, 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 conducting research on 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 prime minister in accordance with the recommendations of Rosatom.
In February 2005, Mikhail Kovalchuk was appointed head of the institution . Kurchatov Institute, in order to become the main organization coordinating efforts in the field of nanotechnology in Russia, in February 2007 won the corresponding tender.