Israel has completed a section of its Sorek Applied Research Accelerator Facility, which will be used in civilian research as well as in the production of radioactive isotopes used in medicine.
The Swiss accelerator, the world’s largest, is intended to help researchers trying to learn more about the origins of the universe. Although Israel’s 30-meter-long particle accelerator, called the Sorek Applied Research Accelerator Facility (SARAF), is also intended for civilian research, it will serve the practical function of creating radioactive isotopes for medical purposes, said the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, which footed most of the NIS 200 million bill for the machine.
“The world is headed in the direction of accelerators of different types,” said Israel Mardor, the commission official responsible for the accelerator project. “Technology today makes it possible to create powerful and precise accelerators. Israel has reached the conclusion that it cannot stay behind.”
The $53 million plant, which was partly funded by the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, is expected to produce palladium-103, a radioactive isotope used in prostate cancer treatment.
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