Light will be the main theme of this year Scientific Picnic event. „Light is just visible radiation” — said Professor Ludwik Dobrzyński, Director of NCBJ Department of Education & Trainings — „However, NCBJ scientists will be presenting topics related to invisible ionising radiation. After Chernobyl and Fukushima many people fear that type of radiation. But people are spending their lives immersed in a constant flux of ionising radiation. Such radiation is also commonly used in nuclear medicine to diagnose and/or treat many diseases. Therefore it is worth to get to know when the invisible common thing may become a threat”.

NCBJ’s booth E26 will be situated in a tent located at the Wybrzeże Szczecińskie side of the National Stadium in Warsaw. Titles of the the-be-offered shows include:

1. Nuclear reactor simulator
2. How to see the invisible i.e. detection of ionising radiation
3. Invisible radiation around us
4. How people can see
5. To look through i.e. properties of radiation able to penetrate dense matter.

Visitors to our booth will learn:

• basic properties of ionizing radiation
• techniques used to detect ionising radiation and how sensitive human senses are for various kinds of radiation
• what natural radioactivity is and how it impacts our lives.

Besides, they will be offered an opportunity to run a reactor simulator to singlehandedly start up and get a feeling of how to control MARIA research reactor operated in  Świerk.

All who will find our shows attractive are invited to come to see our Institute in Świerk. This year “open day“ event will be organized during the last weekend of May (Saturday 30 and Sunday 31). Among numerous attractions, the visitors will sightsee MARIA, the sole nuclear reactor operated in Poland (of which simulator will be available during the Scientific Picnic event).

More info: rzecznik@ncbj.gov.pl

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With its over 1,000 employees, NCBJ is one of the largest research institutes in Poland. Its profile includes support for the nuclear power programme in Poland, pure research in sub-atomic physics (physics of elementary particles, nuclear physics, hot plasma physics etc.), practical applications of nuclear methods, manufacture of equipment for various branches of science and national economy, in particular for medicine. NCBJ operates MARIA, the sole nuclear reactor in Poland, used to produce radioactive isotopes, to radiation-modify various materials, and to conduct research with the use of neutron beams. NCBJ participates in many international research projects, especially on new nuclear-related technologies. Outcomes of research conducted in NCBJ will be implemented in the Świerk Science and Technology Park.