China has completed construction of the world’s most powerful hypergravity centrifuge — CHIEF1900. The development belongs to Shanghai Electric Nuclear Power Group, and the facility is located in the CHIEF laboratory at Zhejiang University. The machine creates an acceleration of 1,900 g-t, nearly a thousand times greater than in an ordinary washing machine spin cycle and far surpassing the previous world record, CHIEF1300, also set in China.
CHIEF1900 opens new horizons for science: processes that in reality take centuries — such as soil erosion or the fatigue of building structures — can be studied in just a few days. It is a major asset for ecology, construction, mechanical engineering, geotechnics and even biology.
The laboratory housing the new centrifuge is located almost 15 meters underground. This is not just an architectural choice, but a necessary protection against vibration and external noise to preserve the accuracy of experiments. The facility is already open to international projects and will serve as a foundation for new scientific research.
