The innovative development of nuclear technologies is an essential condition for consolidating (and in some areas, achieving) a position of global technological leadership and maintaining Russia's defense capability.
During the 20th century, basic research in nuclear physics, plasma physics, and energy conversion became the basis of at least two major applied nuclear projects that have had significant influence on the development of mankind: military (the atomic bomb) and energy (the nuclear reactor).
During the Soviet atomic project an entire class of unique technological operations was created. The methods of nuclear physics, thermodynamics and fluid dynamics, and chemical technologies evolved together and have formed a single “package” of technologies, which we provisionally name the "technology of nuclear science." This group of technologies forms the basis for the development of nuclear energetics.
The most important result of the development of the nuclear industry has become radiation control and magnetic fields (radiation technology). Based on this group of technologies, a wide range of equipment has been designed and manufactured, including accelerators, neutron generators, lasers, high-frequency systems, detectors of particles and radiation, microscopes and telescopes, and microwave microelectronics.
Today these technologies and equipment are used in many other non-energy and non-military markets, and the list of these markets is constantly growing. Among the fastest-growing markets are those for nuclear medicine, sterilization and disinfection, safety and non-destructive testing, ecology and water treatment, and mining and processing of mineral resources.
The report "Radiation technologies: changing the industries’ character and the quality of life" was elaborated by the Nuclear Technologies cluster of the Skolkovo Foundation in close cooperation with the North-West Strategic Research Center. To date the radiation technologies and solutions are in a high demand around the globe. Over 20 percent of the world’s top 100 corporations are using them in manufacturing and technological areas.
Among them are medicine for diagnosis and treatment of cancer, sterilization of medical devices and materials. In transportation industry they are being used to ensure safety by X-raying suspicious passengers and baggage, in food and cosmetics they are used for disinfection and to increase the shelf life of groceries.
They are also used in new materials production, exploration of mineral resources and mining and other areas.
The report offers an overview of key stages of development of the radiation technologies since the very first developments in the 1950's to the current stage of forming a multi-platform technology. It also contains the market analysis and analysis of technological factors affecting the global markets of radiation technology. I’ll also see there a forecast of the growth dynamics of the market along with analysis of the most promising technological trends and products, created with the help of the radiation technologies.