The world’s most advanced supergravity machine, capable of generating forces thousands of times stronger than gravity at the Earth’s surface, has become operational in China.
Once fully operational, the Interdisciplinary and Supergravity Centrifuge Experimental Facility (CHIEF) will provide a scientific platform with the strongest supergravity centrifuge on the planet, as reported by MSN on November 17. This project marks a significant advancement in enhancing scientists’ understanding of events such as mountain formation processes or dam collapse disasters. The preliminary completion of the project is a milestone in the field of supergravity research, according to the Hangzhou government, the capital of Zhejiang Province in eastern China. The first phase of handover is planned to take place this year.
Interdisciplinary and Supergravity Centrifuge Experimental Facility (CHIEF) in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. (Photo: Ifeng)
The project was approved in 2018 by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China. Construction began in 2020, under the supervision of a team of scientists from Zhejiang University. CHIEF consists of three supergravity centrifuges that spin the containment chamber at extreme speeds, forcing heavier liquids and solids to the outer edge or bottom. The first centrifuge resembles two giant arms holding two baskets containing experimental modules. Installation of the remaining two centrifuges is currently underway.
The gravity of Earth is represented as 1g, and anything greater than 1g is referred to as supergravity. When astronauts return to Earth in a spacecraft, they experience supergravity of 4g, which is four times their body weight. Supergravity centrifuges are revolutionary research tools due to their ability to create extreme physical conditions that do not exist in everyday environments.
In 2019, Zhejiang University proposed and detailed the design of CHIEF, according to Chen Yunmin, a professor at the university. Such a facility could “compress” time and space, allowing exploration of numerous complex physical issues and serving a variety of technical purposes. For instance, scientists could observe the circulation of pollutants that have persisted for tens of thousands of years in nature,” Chen noted.
The world’s leading supergravity facility is being developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with a capacity of approximately 1,200 g-t (gravity acceleration × tons). The machine under construction in Hangzhou has a total capacity of 1900 g-t. The project is designed to accommodate six supergravity experimental chambers, each focusing on a specific research area such as slope and dam engineering, seismic geotechnics, deep-sea engineering, environmental studies, geological processes, and material processing.
For example, deep-sea engineering, such as scientific exploration, could bring the extraction of gas hydrates closer to reality. Gas hydrates are frozen fossil fuels found on the ocean floor and in permafrost, consisting of water and gas, usually methane. They are abundant energy reserves, widely distributed, and provide clean fuel, becoming one of the most promising alternative energy sources for the future. Supergravity experiments could replicate extraction processes and simulate various deep-sea extraction methods, enabling optimization of yield and risk reduction.
CHIEF is among the ten important national science and technology infrastructure projects established in China between 2016 and 2020, with a cost exceeding $276.5 million.
