Physics World Focus on Neutron Science 2016

In Europe, neutron scientists are facing up to a number of headwinds. One is the uncertainty caused by the recent UK vote to leave the European Union, while another is the impending closure of ageing reactors across the continent. This shortfall in capacity is unlikely to be met by the upcoming European Spallation Source in Lund, Sweden, so there are plans to plug the gap by building compact, specialist sources. Improvements to accelerator technology and instruments could also help. Scientists at the US Spallation Neutron Source are pioneering a method to boost its proton beam energy using plasma processing, while the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s world-leading neutron microscope will soon open up to users.

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