A member of the Nobel Committee for Physics and Rector of Stockholm University, Mats Larsson, has praised the achievements of Belarusian scientists in the sphere of laser physics. Speaking at an international session on free electron lasers, held at the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, he commented, “This sphere is being newly developed globally, so the participation of Belarusian scientists is of fundamental, theoretical character. Similar installations exist only in the USA and Japan. The contribution of Belarusian scientists in the sphere of laser physics is very high, as is evident from the work of the B.I. Stepanov Physics Institute.”
Studying lasers at the NAS laboratory of nonlinear physics
The international session was attended by leading scientists in this sphere from the UK, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Italy, Belarus and Ukraine. Organised by the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus and the University of Stockholm, problems of development were discussed, alongside opportunities for Belarusian scientists to take part in European programmes dealing with the creation of free electron lasers.
Free electron lasers are being created in the USA, Italy, Germany and Japan, with most being several kilometres long, costing about a billion Euros. However, some table-top variants are manufactured.
At present, free electron lasers are used for fundamental research and are being applied in the fields of chemistry, biology and medicine.
Mats Larsson
Belarusian and Swedish scientists are working jointly in the sphere of optic and laser physics. Mats Larsson, who is a member of the Nobel Committee for Physics, and is the Rector of Stockholm University, has visited the NAS of Belarus several times. In 2013, he took part in the 4th Congress of Physicists of Belarus. On April 25th, 2013, Mr. Larsson gave a public lecture in the conference hall of the NAS Presidium of Belarus, on the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physics: Lev Landau.
By Alexander Pimenov
