Turkish CERN to go into service next year
ANKARA - Hürriyet
Turkey’s first particle accelerator, which already entered into service on Sept. 24 last year, is set to begin working at full capacity by 2013 under the supervision of Ankara University in the district of Gölbaşı.The “Turkish Accelerator Center,” a smaller version of the world’s largest particle laboratory, “CERN,” on the French–Swiss border, consists of two interlocking subdivisions, an accelerator/collider center and an infrared and laser center.
The accelerator center is expected to provide a significant boost to research and development in Turkey in many areas, including medicine, the production of military equipment and other segments of the industry.
The project was initiated decades ago and first designed through the collaboration of the State Planning Organization (DPT), but it was not until the second half of the 2000s that significant funds were injected into the scheme, İsmet Berkan said in his column for daily Hürriyet.
Professor Ömer Yavaş from Ankara University, one of the few professors focusing on high energy physics in Turkey, is currently leading the project.
Positron particles
The Turkish Accelerator Center will also produce positron particles that are injected into a patient’s body with a needle before entering a PET scan. While Turkey currently imports the material from abroad, the particles that will be obtained from the accelerator center will both cover the country’s domestic needs and provide surplus for exports.
The domestic invention and production of other tools that might be needed in the center could also lead to other technological breakthroughs.
