The Institute of Physics of the University of Latvia

The Institute of Physics of the University of Latvia
 
The Institute of Physics of The University of Latvia (IPUL) (www.ipul.lv) is recognized as one of the oldest and largest worldwide centres in the field of fundamental and applied magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) research. It can boast a unique mercury (quicksilver) laboratory which has few equals in Europe. The Institute also deals with fundamental research in the sphere of magnetic fluids, which has great potential in advanced treatment of cancer. Special attention is devoted to research in wood fuel combustion and heat energy production with the aim of obtaining clean and effective heat energy.  

IPUL works with many world-famous companies (e.g. Siemens) as well as top research institutions and universities around the world. Not all of their projects can be made public nevertheless there are several of special importance that are noted below:

The Ampere Initiative – a Franco-Latvian led collaborative project, for example, is aiming to create a European centre of excellence (“The Ampere Institute”) in Latvia in the domain of magnetohydrodynamics and magnetic fields. Since 2001, IPUL and the French organisations CEA and CNRS have been pushing for the establishment of a large research institute near Riga, making the most of Latvian excellence in these domains. The applications for this technology are numerous and of prime importance: “blanketing” for nuclear reactors, high-efficiency induction pumps with no moving parts, the use of ferrocolloids in biomedicine, and many others are among the most promising for future development.  

Many of us have heard about CERN, an intergovernmental project in Geneva (CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is one of the world’s largest and most respected centres for scientific research). IPUL has become a partner in a project of similar scale and magnitude, namely, The European Spallation Source (ESS) in Lund (Sweden). ESS will be a multi-disciplinary research laboratory based upon the world’s most powerful neutron source. ESS can be linked to a large microscope where neutrons are used instead of light to study materials to gain knowledge about their structure and function. ESS will be up to 100 times more effective than existing facilities, opening up new possibilities for researchers in, for example, health, the environment, climate, energy, transport sciences and cultural heritage.

New sources of energy have been on the minds of the world’s scientists for decades. ITER is a large-scale scientific experiment intended to prove the viability of fusion as an energy source, and to collect the data necessary for the design and subsequent operation of the first electricity-producing fusion power plant. Launched as an idea for international collaboration in 1985, the ITER Agreement includes China, the European Union, India, Japan, Korea, Russia and the United States, representing over half of the world's population. IPUL in cooperation with Hidrovats Ltd. is also involved by producing technology and a Pb-Li eutectic alloy for the needs of the project, a collaboration which is likely to extend into the foreseeable future.

Source: © 2009, ITER Organization