Work Package 7

CONDENSED MATTER SCIENCE

Work Packages main aim

From probing the structures of new sustainable materials, to exposing the dynamics of proteins, cold neutrons are perfectly suited to a host of condensed-matter studies. They penetrate deep into samples, and, unlike other probes such as X-rays, can detect the influence of light atoms among those that are heavier. Some neutron techniques will benefit particularly from a second ESS source of cold, very cold and ultra-cold neutrons at very high intensity: neutron spin-echo, small-angle neutron scattering and neutron imaging. In this work package, led by the Paul Scherrer Institut in Villigen, Switzerland, experts in the field will identify the best ways that instruments can exploit these techniques for unprecedented research into, for example:

high-performance materials, such as self-healing polymers and improved concrete;
sustainable technology, such as batteries, fuel cells and carbon sequestration;
health, such as drug design and the origins of neurodegenerative disease;

About

Drawing input from eight European research institutions, and with a budget of €3m over three years from the EU’s Horizon 2020 programme, the project will produce a groundbreaking design for a second source of ESS neutrons. As a result, it will show how the ESS can be not only the most brilliant neutron source in the world, but also the most intense, able to probe everyday materials and tackle fundamental questions in physics with up to 1,000 times the sensitivity found anywhere else.