World's Largest Cosmic Lab Set Up in Tibet

World's Largest Cosmic Ray Observatory Established in Tibet

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The world's largest cosmic laboratory, jointly funded by China and Italy, has been officially inaugurated in Yangbajain, in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

The new lab, with a floor space of 10,000 sq m, was set up inside the old Yangbajain Cosmic Ray Research Laboratory, which was established by Chinese and Japanese scientists in 1990. It has been equipped with a 5,000-sq-m cosmic ray detector.

"It is the world's largest of its kind," said Tan Youheng, director of the project.

Italy provided 9 million U.S. dollars to the project. Investors from the Chinese side included the State Development Planning Commission, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the China National Natural Sciences Foundation, which pooled 35 million yuan (about 4.2 million U.S. dollars) for the project.

Tan explained that cosmic ray observation is part of basic scientific research, and contributes to the studies of atmospheric physics, nuclear physics, solar activities, wireless communications and related fields.

Professor Ettorre Piazzoli from Italy said that the sky is illuminated by gamma rays. The problem is how to observe the rays through a telescope, which is what the lab is going to be engaged in.

Scientists from over a dozen countries have worked at the Yangbajain Cosmic Ray Research Lab, which is located 4,700 m above sea level on snow-capped Mount Nyainqentanglha. It is considered the ideal site for observing cosmic rays.

The lab has convenient power, traffic and telecommunications conditions. Its power is provided by the Yangbajain Power Station. It has connections to both the Qinghai-Tibet highway and a long- distance optic-fiber line.