Science and technology have been pivotal in Pakistan's development since its inception. The country boasts a large pool of scientists, engineers, doctors, and technicians actively contributing to these fields.
72-577: The Dr. A. Q. Khan Research Laboratories (shortened as KRL ), is a federally funded research and development laboratory located in Kahuta at a short distance from Rawalpindi in Punjab , Pakistan . Established in 1976, the laboratory is best known for its central role in Pakistan's nuclear weapons program and its understanding the nuclear science. Established in 1976, it was originally organized as
144-553: A free content work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO ( license statement/permission ). Text taken from UNESCO Science Report: the Race Against Time for Smarter Development , 574–603, UNESCO Publishing. Zippe-type centrifuge The Zippe-type centrifuge is a gas centrifuge designed to enrich the rare fissile isotope uranium-235 ( U) from the mixture of isotopes found in naturally occurring uranium compounds. The isotopic separation
216-494: A top-secret plant dedicated to enrichment as a response to the India's detonation of its first nuclear bomb in 1974. Chosen for its remote yet relatively accessible location from Rawalpindi. In the 1970s, the site was the cornerstone of the first stage of Pakistan's atomic bomb program, and serves as the center for conducting the nuclear scientific research. It is globally known for its research in gas centrifuges to produce
288-678: A 60-fold increase in funding for science. The real growth of science in Pakistan occurred under the leadership of Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman during 2000–2008 when he was the Federal Minister of Science & Technology and later Chairman of the Higher Education Commission (HEC). The chairperson of the Senate Standing Committee on Education hailed the first six years of HEC under Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman as "Pakistan's golden period." Dr. Abdus Salam,
360-410: A centrifuge with 60 cm diameter, 12 m height and 900 m/s peripheral speed. A countercurrent of the gas is stimulated either mechanically or (less preferred) by a temperature gradient between the top and bottom of the rotor. With a countercurrent-to-feed ratio of 4, Glaser calculates a separation factor of 1,74 for a TC-21 centrifuge of 5 m height. Lowering this ratio (by increasing the feed) decreases
432-518: A centripetal acceleration of around 900,000 x g (around 42 times the max speed of a standard, lab benchtop microcentrifuge and between 0.9 to 9 times the max speed of a standard lab ultracentrifuge ) or a linear speed of greater than Mach 2 in air (Mach 1 = sound velocity, in air ca. 340 m/s) and much more in UF 6 . For comparison, automatic washing machines operate at only about 12 to 25 revolutions per second (720–1500 rpm) during
504-639: A fixed axis. Dependence on the Zippe-type was lessened when more effective and innovative methods were developed that culminated from the studies conducted under Drs. A.Q. Khan, G.D. Allam and T. S. Shah. In Pakistan MoD laboratory system, the KRL is a senior laboratory executes missions relating to national security. The technology of krytron was also built at the KRL which was then transferred to Heavy Industries Taxila , an army laboratory based in Taxila. Besides
576-463: A fluid rather than a solid, and this process used gaseous uranium hexafluoride . The relative mass difference between UF 6 and UF 6 is less than 0.86%. Separation efficiency in a centrifuge depends on absolute mass difference. Separation of uranium isotopes requires a centrifuge that can spin at 1,500 revolutions per second (90,000 rpm ). If we assume a rotor diameter of 20 cm (as in some modern centrifuges ), this would correspond to
648-402: A large numbers of centrifuges were deployed but they were scaled down to few centrifuges after revised critical mass calculations on equation of state of uranium by Abdul Qadeer Khan and his co-investigators in 1980s. Its official name changed to Khan Research Laboratory (KRL) in 1981 by Presidential decree, which also allowed its status as a national defense laboratory. Globally, the KRL has
720-477: A prestige in conducting research into properties and behavior of uranium to learn how uranium is scaled to industrial-to-weapon-grade level and how its equation of state changes under the extreme pressure and temperature. For such investigation, principle investigators employed the Zippe method (local designation: Khan Centrifuge) that runs about 100,000 rpm on continuous at an average of 10 years. The Uranium (U)
792-534: A regional digital library. The HEC also provided free high-speed internet access to scientific literature and launched initiatives to create new universities and science parks. The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology has overseen Pakistan's science and technology sector since 1972. In 2012, the government recognized innovation as a long-term economic growth strategy by formulating the National Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy. Key focuses of
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#1732772537593864-601: A theoretical physicist, won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979, while Professor Atta-ur-Rahman , an organic chemist, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2006. In terms of technology, Pakistan has made significant strides in nuclear physics and explosives engineering, primarily driven by security concerns. The country is also involved in space exploration , with a focus on military applications. Pakistan
936-563: Is Nishan-e-Imtiaz (or in English Order of Excellence). While Hilal-i-Imtiaz , Pride of Performance , Sitara-i-Imtiaz , and Tamgha-e-Imtiaz occupies a unique role and importance in Pakistan's civil society. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from a free content work. Licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0. Text taken from UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 , UNESCO, UNESCO Publishing. [REDACTED] This article incorporates text from
1008-472: Is a naturally occurring element that can be found in low levels within all rock, soil, and water. The Natural uranium (U) consists of three isotopes, Uranium-238 (U), which is 99.28% natural abundance, the Uranium-235 (U), which is subject of interest for energy measurement available only at 0.71%, and uranium-234, with proportion of 0.0054%. The Uranium-235 is fissile but at 0.71% it cannot sustain
1080-479: Is an associate member of CERN , a prestigious international research organization. The Scientific and Technological Research Division (S&TR) was established in 1964 to coordinate and implement national science and technology policy, promote research, and facilitate the utilization of research results and scientific and technological manpower. Since 1972, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) has been
1152-555: Is based on the slight difference in mass of the isotopes. The Zippe design was originally developed in the Soviet Union by a team led by 60 Austrian and German scientists and engineers captured after World War II , working in detention. In the West (and now generally) the type is known by the name of the man who recreated the technology after his return to the West in 1956, based on his recollection of his work in (and contributions to)
1224-457: Is behind a perforated baffle that rotates with the centrifuge; it collects the UF 6 -rich fraction. The other scoop is without baffle. It slows down the gas rotation and thus increases the pressure towards the inside, so that also the UF 6 -rich fraction can be collected without pumping. Each centrifuge has one inlet on the axis and two output lines, one collecting the gas at the bottom and one at
1296-449: Is difficult to build successfully and requires carefully machined parts. However, compared to other enrichment methods , it is much cheaper and is faster to set up, consumes much less energy and requires little area for the plant. Therefore it can be built in relative secrecy. This makes it ideal for covert nuclear-weapons programs and increases the risk of nuclear proliferation . Centrifuge cascades also have much less material held in
1368-498: Is on enhancing Pakistan's technological skills, increasing human resources to combat brain drain, and integrating technological infrastructure to strengthen institutions, improve governance of the S&;TR, and support local innovation systems. The 1960s and 1970s marked the initial rise of Pakistan's science, which gained international recognition in various science communities. During this period, scientists contributed significantly to
1440-572: Is stronger, spins faster, and enriches more uranium per machine than the P1. In Pakistan, the Zippe-type centrifuge had a local designation and was known as Centrifuge Khan (after Abdul Qadeer Khan ). Russian sources dispute the account of Soviet centrifuge development given by Gernot Zippe. They cite Max Steenbeck as the German scientist in charge of the German part of the Soviet centrifuge effort, which
1512-658: Is supported by the KRL at the University of Karachi , with the support from Pakistan Science Foundation. The KRL organized a conference on Computational biology in Islamabad to present overview of the scope of computational sciences. From 1976 till 1978, the lab depended heavily on the Urenco Group 's method on developing the gas centrifuge, which it says to be suffering due to incomplete mechanical parts and differential equation problems involving rotational dynamics on
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#17327725375931584-513: Is the pressure, r the variable radius and R its maximum, M the molecular mass, ω the angular velocity, k the Boltzmann constant and T the temperature. (This equation is similar to the barometric formula .) Writing this equation for both isotopes and dividing, gives the ( r -dependent) isotope ratio. It only contains Δ M (not the relative mass difference Δ M/M ) in the exponent. The radial enrichment factor then results by dividing through
1656-411: Is thrown towards the outer wall, with the UF 6 enriched in the outermost layer and the UF 6 enriched at the inside of this layer. The centrifugal force creates a pressure gradient: On the axis of the centrifuge there is practically vacuum, so that no mechanical feedthrough or seal is needed for the gas inlet and outlets; near the wall the UF 6 reaches its saturation pressure, which in turn limits
1728-762: The Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME) were central in working and supporting the operations of the lab with Major-General Ali Nawab acting its principle engineer in 1979. More broadly, the ERL was intended to spur innovation and provide competition to the weapon design with the second lab in Nilore running under the PAEC's contract. Under Abdul Qadeer Khan, the work on equation of state of uranium began with drs. G. D. Alam , Tasneem Shah , and Anwar Ali who served as co-principle investigators at Kahuta. Initially,
1800-618: The Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering served on the MoD's contract with Maj-Gen. Ali Nawab overseeing the lab's operations. Since then, the lab's corporate leadership has been entrusted with civilian leadership through contracts awarded by the MoD. At the behest of the laboratory director in 1981, the tender was opened to the University of Karachi and the Government College University to oversee its operations. The KRL's research and university affiliation with
1872-778: The Nobel Prize Committee awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics to Abdus Salam for formulating the electroweak theory, which unifies the weak nuclear force and electromagnetic force . In 1990, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) launched Pakistan's first locally designed communication satellite, Badr-1 , from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center (XLSC) in the People's Republic of China. With this launch, Pakistan became
1944-531: The Pakistan Academy of Sciences and various specialized institutes. The Pakistan Academy of Sciences, established in 1953 and relocated to Islamabad in 1964, focuses primarily on the natural sciences, especially physics. From 1947 to 1971, research was conducted independently, with little government influence. The High Tension Laboratories (HTL) at Government College University, Lahore , were founded by R. M. Chaudhry with British government funding in
2016-567: The Pakistan Academy of Sciences . Pakistan has made significant contributions in various scientific fields, with chemistry being particularly strong. The International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences is a leading institution in this area, offering one of the largest postgraduate research programs in the country. Other notable fields include physics, material science, metallurgy, biology, and mathematics. Pakistani scientists have achieved international acclaim in mathematics and several branches of physical science. Professor Abdus Salam ,
2088-598: The Stuxnet event in Iran). Interrupting the cylindrical rotor by flexible bellows controls the low-frequency vibrations, and careful speed control during start-up helps to ensure that the centrifuge does not operate too long at speeds where resonance is a problem. But more (proprietary) measures seem necessary. Therefore Russia stayed with "subcritical" centrifuges (i.e., with small lengths around 0.5–1 m), whereas those of Urenco have lengths up to 10 m. The Zippe-type centrifuge
2160-453: The University of Karachi in Sindh . The KRL supports its physics program through funding and providing scholarship to physics and engineering students at the Government College University . The continuing efforts to make the laboratories more science efficient led the Ministry of Science (MoST) to grant a three research and fellowship programmes with the Government College University with
2232-505: The chain reaction in a nuclear weapon environment, which requires the 90% of U but remains uncontrolled whose reaction takes place in a short amount of time– in a nanosecond time. For this purposes, the gas centrifuge methods using the vacuum technology were established but this method took several years to master, and it was not until the 1985 when the highly enriched uranium (HEU) was first made available. The computer simulations and experiments on uranium are conducted by KRL to understand
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2304-550: The enriched uranium ; and in past, it has competed with the PINSTECH on wide variety of weapon designs but it is now have focused in civilian missions, including the national security , fusion science and supercomputing . As an aftermath of the India's first nuclear test, the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) launched the studies on isotope separation through gas method by setting
2376-480: The plant as Project-706 under Bashiruddin Mahmood , a nuclear engineer, in 1974. In 1976, the difficulties encountered in preliminary studies under Mahmood on understanding the equation of state of uranium indicated the need for a dedicated laboratory solely to that purpose. Work on establishing the laboratory was initiated by the army's Engineer-in-Chief who selected Brigadier Zahid Ali Akbar to conduct
2448-404: The uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) gas that the KRL reduced to uranium metal and machined into weapon pits. In 1987, the KRL began publishing a series of academic articles on numerics and computational methods for centrifuge design, including a 1987 article co-authored by Abdul Qadeer Khan on techniques for balancing sophisticated ultracentrifuge rotors. In the 1990s, the mathematicians at
2520-584: The 1950s. In 1967, Professor Abdus Salam established the Institute of Theoretical Physics at Quaid-e-Azam University, along with the Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology and the Centre for Nuclear Studies , with support from European countries. However, after Zulfikar Ali Bhutto became president in 1972, he centralized scientific research under his socialist reforms and established
2592-701: The CIA, to infiltrate Pakistan’s research facilities. In 2002, the University Grants Commission was replaced by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), tasked with reforming higher education by improving financial incentives, increasing university enrollment and PhD graduates, enhancing foreign scholarships and research collaborations, and providing state-of-the-art ICT facilities. The HEC also upgraded scientific laboratories, rehabilitated educational facilities, and developed
2664-706: The Chagai Hills on May 28, 1998, under the codename Chagai-I , led by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. PAEC conducted another test in the Kharan Desert, known as Chagai-II , resulting in six tests within a week. With these tests, Pakistan became the seventh nuclear power in the world and the only Muslim-majority country to have mastered nuclear technology. On August 13, 2011, SUPARCO launched its first indigenously developed geosynchronous satellite, Paksat-1R , also from XLSC in China. In 2006, Prof. Atta-ur-Rahman
2736-402: The KRL had built the nation's first high performance computing machines and the supercomputer that were installed installed at the facility. The subcritical experiments on weapon-grade uranium began when a parallel Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) division was established which specialized in conducting high performance computations on shock waves in weapons effect from the outer surface to
2808-912: The Ministry of Science, appointing Ishrat Hussain Usmani as its head. During the 1950s and 1960s, both West and East Pakistan had their own academies of science, with East Pakistan dependent on funding from the West. Medical research is managed by the Health Ministry, agricultural research by the Agriculture Ministry, and environmental sciences by the Environment Ministry. Following the 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, Bhutto increased scientific funding by over 200%, primarily for military research. With Dr. Salam’s guidance, Bhutto recruited Pakistani scientists abroad to develop
2880-449: The Pakistan's military and exported to other friendly nations. The following is a list of known equipment produced under these projects: The KRL is owned by the federal Government of Pakistan and sponsors the laboratory through the Ministry of Defence as its continuing efforts to make the laboratory more efficient. In its early years, the Corps of Engineers had served its first prime contractor from 1976 until 1977. From 1977 till 1981,
2952-555: The Pakistani nuclear physicist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, was accused of (and later pardoned) for mishandling the classified information on the designs of the gas centrifuges to Libya , North Korea , Iran , and China in 1980s that were taken from the lab's computers. The academic research programs and development opportunities at the KRL are supported by the physics departments of the Government College University in Lahore in Punjab and
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3024-468: The Soviet program, Gernot Zippe . To the extent that it might be referred to in Soviet/Russian usage by any one person's name, it was known (at least at a somewhat earlier stage of development) as a Kamenev centrifuge (after Evgeni Kamenev). Natural uranium consists of three isotopes ; the majority (99.274%) is U-238 , while approximately 0.72% is U-235 , fissile by thermal neutrons, and
3096-622: The University of Karachi still continues to this date. With the formation of the federal National Command Authority in 2001, the agency took over the lab's business operations when it awarded the Strategic Plans Division as KRL's prime contractor, which it has been managing the lab operation since 2004. In 2010, the Strategic Plans Division won its first contract with Malaysian Armed Forces when it
3168-515: The atomic bomb. This program was initially led by Dr. Salam and later by Dr. Munir Ahmad Khan until 1991. Zia-ul-Haq, who took power in the 1980s, enforced pseudoscience in education and promoted Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan to export sensitive military technologies to Libya, Iran, and North Korea. Due to government control, much of Pakistan’s academic research remains classified and unknown to the international scientific community. There have been numerous failed attempts by foreign powers, including Libya and
3240-484: The field. Pure research in Quantum electrodynamics, Quantum field theory, protonic decay, and other major fields of physics was pioneered by Pakistani scientists. With the establishment of nuclear and neutron institutes, Pakistan's mathematicians introduced complex mathematical applications to study and examine the behaviors of elements during the fission process. Salimuzzaman Siddiqui, Atta-ur-Rahman and Iqbal Choudhary are
3312-435: The fields of Natural Product Chemistry, theoretical, particle, mathematical, and nuclear physics, as well as other major and subfields of Chemistry and Physics. The research was spearheaded by scientists such as Riazuddin , Ishfaq Ahmad , Salimuzzaman Siddiqui , Atta-ur-Rahman and Samar Mubarakmand . The major growth in scientific output occurred after the establishment of the Higher Education Commission , accompanied by
3384-636: The first Muslim-majority country to develop an artificial robotic satellite and the second South Asian state to launch a satellite, after India. One of the most widely reported achievements occurred in 1998 when Pakistan joined the nuclear club . In response to India's nuclear tests on May 11 and May 13, 1998, under the codename Operation Shakti at the Pokhran Test Range (PTR), the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) conducted five simultaneous nuclear tests at
3456-540: The first Pakistani winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics, was the father of physics research in Pakistan. Under his watchful direction, mathematicians and physicists tackled the greatest and outstanding problems in physics and mathematics. From 1960 to 1974, Salam led the research at its peak, prompting international recognition of Pakistani mathematicians and physicists. This allowed them to conduct their research at CERN. Salam and his students revolutionized particle and theoretical physics, becoming modern pioneers in
3528-613: The impact of the reforms introduced by Atta-ur-Rahman, revealing that the rate of growth of highly cited papers from Pakistan over the past decade was greater than that of Brazil, Russia, India, or China. Pakistan was ranked 91st in the Global Innovation Index in 2024. A large part of research is conducted by science research institutes with semi-controlled by the Government. The most prestigious government prize awarded for achievements in science and technology
3600-467: The initial isotope ratio. To calculate the total enrichment in a countercurrent centrifuge of height H , one has to add a factor of H /( R √2) in the exponent. According to Glaser, early centrifuges had rotor diameters of 7.4 to 15 cm and lengths of 0.3 to 3.2 m, and the peripheral speed was 350 to 500 m/s. The modern centrifuge TC-21 of Urenco has a diameter of 20 cm and a length of more than 5 m, spinning with 770 m/s. Centrus (formerly Usec) plans
3672-567: The inner core by using difficult differential equations of the state of the materials used in the bomb under high pressure. The KRL was major participant in MoD's Hatf program (lit. Target ). The lab served as a chief designer of the warhead design, control systems, and rocket engine development of the Hatf and Ghauri weapon systems. Since the 1980s, the KRL is involved in numerous military equipment and conventional weaponry development projects. The resulting systems have been put into service by
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#17327725375933744-449: The machine at any time than gaseous diffusion plants . Pakistan's atomic bomb program developed the P1 and P2 centrifuges based on early designs of Urenco; the first two centrifuges that Pakistan deployed in larger numbers but reduce it after 1981 based on estimation require for critical mass. The P1 centrifuge uses an aluminum rotor, and the P2 centrifuge uses a maraging steel rotor, which
3816-428: The material and its protection against chemical attacks are proprietary. Such are also the various techniques that are used to avoid forces causing destructive (bending) vibrations: Lengthening of a (countercurrent) centrifuge improves the enrichment exponentially. But it also decreases the vibrational frequency of mechanical resonances, which increases the danger of catastrophic failure during start-up (as happened during
3888-423: The national focal point for the Government of Pakistan, planning and coordinating scientific and technological programs aligned with the national agenda. Its goal is to build a strong and sustainable research base for socio-economic development. The Ministry promotes technological advancements in industrial development, renewable energy, and rural development to boost growth and improve living standards. Its main focus
3960-535: The pioneering personalities for studying the isolation of unique chemical compounds from the Neem ( Azadirachta indica ) , Rauvolfia , periwinkle ( Catharanthus roseus ), ( Buxus papillosa ) and various other plants. Most research programs in Pakistan take place not only at universities but also at specialized research facilities and institutes. Some of these institutes operate under the Ministry of Science and Technology , which oversees scientific development, along with
4032-468: The policy include: By 2014, studies were completed in eleven areas, including agriculture, energy, ICT, and health. After the 2013 government change Ministry of Science and Technology issued the draft National Science, Technology, and Innovation Strategy 2014-2018 . This strategy was integrated into Vision 2025, Pakistan's long-term development plan, with human development as its central pillar. In 1961, Pakistan made international achievements by becoming
4104-453: The remaining 0.0055% is U-234 . If natural uranium is enriched to 3% U-235 , it can be used as fuel for light water nuclear reactors . If it is enriched to 90% uranium-235, it can be used for nuclear weapons . Enriching uranium is difficult because the isotopes are practically identical in chemistry and very similar in weight: U-235 is only 1.26% lighter than U-238 (note this applies only to uranium metal). Centrifuges need to work with
4176-443: The rotation speed, because condensation must be avoided. In the so-called countercurrent centrifuge, the bottom of the gaseous mix can be heated, producing convection currents . But the countercurrent is usually stimulated mechanically by the scoop collecting the enriched fraction. In such a way, the enrichment in each horizontal layer is repeated (and thus multiplied) in the next layer, similarly as in column distillation . One scoop
4248-590: The rotor on its axis. After the scientists were released from Soviet captivity in 1956, Gernot Zippe was surprised to find that engineers in the West were years behind in their centrifuge technology. He was able to reproduce his design at the University of Virginia in the United States , publishing the results, even though the Soviets had confiscated his notes. Zippe left the United States when he
4320-488: The separation factor but increases the throughput and thus the productivity. To reduce friction, the rotor spins in a vacuum . Part of the rotor with the near-by housing acts as a molecular pump, which maintains the vacuum. A magnetic bearing holds the top of the rotor steady, and the only physical contact (necessary only during start-up) is the conical jewel bearing on which the rotor sits. Both bearings contain measures for damping vibrations. The three gas lines enter
4392-398: The spin cycle, while turbines in automotive turbochargers can run up to around 2500–3333 revolutions per second (150,000–200,000 rpm). A Zippe-type centrifuge has a hollow, cylindrical rotor filled with gaseous uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) A rotating magnetic field at the bottom of the rotor, as used in an electric motor , is able to spin it quickly enough that the UF 6
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#17327725375934464-460: The structural, electrical, material, and chemical properties as well as uranium fused allows and to determine how these materials change over time under temperature and pressure difference. The laboratory has attracted negative publicity from a number of events, mainly due to its past research affiliation with North Korea and China . In 1996, the Clinton administration accused China of approving
4536-543: The support of Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF). Since 1980 at present, the KRL continues to develop the research work on computational mathematics , supercomputing and advanced mathematics to the extended applications to natural sciences. In 1999, the KRL established a research institute on computer science at Kahuta, which was later integrated to University of Engineering and Technology in Taxila . The civilian research on biotechnology , biology and Genetic Engineering
4608-570: The tender released for the KRL on the acquisition of specially-made magnetic rings for special suspension bearings mounted at the top of rotating centrifuge cylinders. In 1999, a visit by the Saudi dignitaries accompanied by the Sharif administration personnel to the laboratory also garnered further negative publicity at the Western media that raised fears of proliferation in the middle east. In 2003,
4680-460: The third Asian country and the tenth in the world to launch the Rehbar-I —a solid fuel expendable rocket—from Sonmani Spaceport . This rocket was developed and launched under the leadership of Dr. W. J. M. Turowicz , a Polish-Pakistani scientist and project director. Following this launch, the program continued to conduct flights until the 1970s. A significant breakthrough occurred in 1979 when
4752-398: The top. Quantitatively, the radial pressure (or density) distribution can be given by p ( r ) = p ( R ) exp ( − ( M ω 2 / 2 k T ) ( R 2 − r 2 ) ) {\displaystyle p(r)=p(R)\exp(-(M\omega ^{2}/2kT)(R^{2}-r^{2}))} where p
4824-510: The topographic survey. Because the experiments were deemed too dangerous to conduct in a major city, the need for the operations to be moved in an isolated and remote mountainous areas was felt by Brig. Akbar who selected Kahuta , at a short distance of the Rawalpindi. On 31 July 1976, the laboratory was established as Engineering Research Laboratories (ERL) with Abdul Qadeer Khan as its principal investigator. The officers and personnel from
4896-399: The understanding the equation of state of uranium, the KRL also embarked on pioneering work on vacuum science and its extended application in plasma physics– its first paper on plasma physics was written in 1998. In 1983, the KRL was able to acquire its very first computer numerical control (CNC) from China to provide machining of the high-strength ultracentrifuges which was able to produce
4968-508: Was effectively barred from continuing his research: The Americans classified the work as secret, requiring him either to become a U.S. citizen (he refused), return to Europe, or abandon his research. He returned to Europe where, during the 1960s, he and his colleagues made the centrifuge more efficient by changing the material of the rotor from aluminium to maraging steel , an alloy with a longer fatigue life and longer breaking length, which allowed higher speed. This improved centrifuge design
5040-517: Was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (London), becoming the first scientist from the Muslim world to receive this honor for his research conducted in an Islamic country. He made significant contributions to the development of natural product chemistry, and several international journals have published special issues in recognition of his work. A landmark study by Thomson Reuters highlighted
5112-491: Was long used by the commercial company Urenco to produce enriched uranium fuel for nuclear power stations . More recently, they use (e.g. in their model TC-21) carbon fiber reinforced walls. The exact details of advanced Zippe-type centrifuges are closely guarded secrets. For example, the efficiency of the centrifuges is improved by increasing their speed of rotation. To do so, stronger materials, such as carbon fiber -reinforced composite materials , are used; but details of
5184-624: Was reported that the KRL was to a contractor for weapons export through the Malaysian businessman Shah Hakim Zain to export weapons to Malaysia. Research and development in Pakistan Liaquat Ali Khan , Pakistan's first Prime Minister, initiated reforms to improve higher education and scientific research. However, significant growth in science occurred after the establishment of the Higher Education Commission in 2002, which supported science initiatives and sponsored
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