Aurora was delighted to have been invited on a tour of the Extreme Photonics Applications Centre (EPAC), which is currently being built at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, just across the road from our office at Harwell Campus!

The Centre will house a laser-driven plasma accelerator which has the ability to unlock an array of research avenues for material imaging, across a range of industries.

The team were given a behind the scenes tour of the new facility, which is set to become operational next year. Following the path of the future laser beam through the Centre, we learned about the role of each piece of equipment involved, from the initial laser source to the beam-dump.

As we walked through, we were able to appreciate the truly remarkable scale of the facility! Not to mention the incredible amount of thought that has gone into the design, that makes such mind-blowing physics a reality!

It was a brilliant opportunity for the Aurora team to ask questions about it’s use, find out how they have overcome challenges during the project, and to witness innovation pushing the boundaries of science!

A special thank you to Rob Clarke, from the Central Laser Facility, who acted as our tour guide, while at the same time ‘wowing’ us with his expert inside knowledge of the facility.

Follow the link to Harwell Campus website to find out more about EPAC!