News

Vacuum milestone for plasma experiment Magnum-PSI
July 30th 2009
28 January 2009
Researchers and engineers of the FOM Institute Rijnhuizen have recently completed the vacuum system of the new plasma-wall-experiment Magnum-PSI and have found that it behaves exactly as designed. According to project leader Wim Koppers, the construction of the device is now "well under way". Scientists want to use Magnum-PSI to investigate the interaction between the reactor wall and the hot, burning plasma in future fusion reactors such as ITER. The research is intended to contribute to the design of the diverter, the part of the reactor where plasma comes into direct contact with the wall material and where the fusion product helium leaves the vacuum vessel.
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Centre of Excellence-grant for FOM-Rijnhuizen
July 30th 2009
International cooperation with Russion institutes will investigate fundamentals of fusion
18 November 2008
The Dutch government, via funding agency NWO, has awarded Rijnhuizen a 500 k€ Centre of Excellence-grant for cooperation with four major Russion research labs. Dr. Tony Donné from the Rijnhuizen-institute will lead the collaboration, with dr. Boris Kuteev from the Kurchatov-institute as second chair.
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Teaching module on nuclear fusion certified
July 30th 2009
3 November 2008
Thursday 30th of October a teaching module on nuclear fusion for secondary school pupils was certified by the Dutch Ministry of Education. This assures that the module will now become part of a new subject on the Dutch curriculum, called "Nature, Life and Technology" (NLT). The module was developed by Erik Min (chief editor) and Amy Shumack from Rijnhuizen in close collaboration with secondary school physics teachers Lieke Heimel and Peter van Soest.
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Energy - powering your world
July 30th 2009
30 September 2008
Where does energy come from, how does our use of energy impact our environment and how will we meet our energy needs in the future? In the recent Dutch translation of his book Energy, powering your world, public information officer Mark Tiele Westra of the FOM Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen explores the world of energy research and development. The richly illustrated and very accessible book is a great introduction tot the world of energy for secundary-school students and anyone who is interested in the engine of our civilization.
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Intriguing structures of gold nanoparticles
July 30th 2009
1 August 2008
Scientists from Germany, Canada and The Netherlands have studied tiny gold nanoparticles, so-called clusters, and found them to have fascinating arrangements of their constituent atoms. For example, twenty gold atoms form a tetrahedron, a sort of pyramid. The nineteen-atom cluster is a truncated pyramid, which can be formed by cutting off one corner atom from the twenty-atom gold pyramid. The structures have been identified using the Free Electron Laser for Infrared eXperiments FELIX at the FOM-Institute for Plasma Physics Rijnhuizen in Nieuwegein. Detailed knowledge about the geometries of such nanoparticles can lead to a better understanding of the unexpected catalytic activity of very small gold particles. The researchers published their results in Science on 1 August 2008.
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