InPics: China builds extreme "super lab" to assist global scientists in probing mysteries of matter

Xinhua
26 Feb 2025, 22:34 GMT+10

Researchers work at an experimental station of the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF) in Huairou District, Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 25, 2025. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)

BEIJING, Feb. 26 (Xinhua) -- The SECUF is opening a portal for scientists to observe the bizarre phenomena of matter under such extreme environments.

After starting construction in September 2017, the SECUF passed national acceptance review on Wednesday, marking the completion of the internationally advanced experimental facility integrating extreme conditions such as ultra-low temperature, ultra-high pressure, strong magnetic fields, and ultra-fast optical fields.

The facility, led by the Institute of Physics (IOP) under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, is a cluster of precision-controlled "extreme environment generators." It serves as a "super lab" for probing the frontiers of materials science. Here, scientists can explore the mysteries of matter and uncover new phenomena or laws invisible under ordinary conditions.

This experimental platform is open to scientists worldwide. So far, 13 universities and research institutions from 10 countries, including Denmark, Germany, France and Japan, have conducted experiments at the SECUF, with some experimental stations already yielding scientific results, accoding to Cheng Jinguang, deputy director of the IOP.

This photo shows a scene during the national acceptance review of the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF) in Huairou District, Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)

A researcher places a sample for analysis at an experimental station of the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF) in Huairou District, Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

Researchers adjust beam path at an experimental station of the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF) in Huairou District, Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 16, 2024. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang)

Lv Li, the leading scientist of the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF), works in an experimental station of the SECUF in Huairou District, Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)

Lv Li (C), the leading scientist of the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF), talks with researchers in an experimental station of the SECUF in Huairou District, Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)

Lv Li, the leading scientist of the Synergetic Extreme Condition User Facility (SECUF), works at an experimental station of the SECUF in Huairou District, Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 26, 2025. (Xinhua/Yin Gang)