Hungary for ESS

Neutron science in Hungary

• Neutron science in Hungary
  
• The Hungarian site
  
• Economic conditions, socio-economic impact
  

Nuclear science played a major role in 20th century Hungarian science. Hungary built its first nuclear reactor for research purposes in 1959 and Hungarian scholars made important contributions to neutron science. Major inventions in the field were made in Budapest: neutron spin echo, neutron supermirrors, neutron holography…

A full-scale reconstruction and upgrade of the Budapest Research Reactor (BRR) was performed in 1986-92. In 2004 the operation license of the reactor was obtained for the next 10-year period. The instrument development program is continued and currently 15 experimental stations are in operation. BRR is a user facility open to the international community; it is a recognized component of the European network of neutron centers. Typically 150 days of user operation is provided per year. The number of experiments (including PhD and contract-based works) is 120-150, the number of publications (typically quoted in annual reports) is 90-100 in a year. Industrial and medical applications (e.g., radioisotope production, scientific instrument production) provide important economic benefit. For example, the turnover of industrial companies directly related to the utilization of the reactor exceeds the reactor’s yearly operating costs threefold.