Neutron instrument BioRef arrived safely in Down Under

The SPATZ team of ANSTO was glad about the arrival of the former HZB neutron instrument BioRef. It will be set up until 2018 in Australia. photo: ANSTO.

The SPATZ team of ANSTO was glad about the arrival of the former HZB neutron instrument BioRef. It will be set up until 2018 in Australia. photo: ANSTO.

As reported, the neutron instrument BioRef will be set up at the “Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering” of ANSTO. Approximately 257 components were safely packed in 43 wooden crates weighing just under 30 tonnes for the sea voyage from Hamburg to Port Botany, Australia. On 14 February the colleagues from ANSTO told us: the three shipping containers arrived safely after a two-month journey from Germany.

The ship transporting the packaged crates stopped at seven ports on the 45-day voyage which covered over 11,800 nautical miles.

The ship transporting the packaged crates stopped at seven ports on the 45-day voyage which covered over 11,800 nautical miles. - See more at: http://www.ansto.gov.au/AboutANSTO/MediaCentre/News/ACS124610#sthash.WLX9dQNg.bL2NpYAE.dpuf

ANSTO and HZB negotiated the transfer of the instrument from the BER-II Research Reactor at Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB) and renewed a MOU for scientific collaboration with the renowned German research organisation in 2016. The instrument will be set up at the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering (ACNS) until 2018. The new name is SPATZ, the German word for sparrow. It follows the tradition of the naming convention of other instruments at the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, which are named after Australian and other fauna. SPATZ will be available for user from Germany, too.

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