Nuclear lab donation

The National Nuclear Laboratory at Sellafield has donated a state of the art microscope to Cockermouth School.  The Scanning Electron Microscope, which has a magnification specification of up to 30,000 has been installed at the school and will be unveiled by Professor Paul Howarth, Managing Director of NNL at an event at Cockermouth School this Thursday afternoon. There are very few schools in the country with such sophisticated equipment.  Manufacturers JEOL installed the microscope at no cost to the school.   The Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) takes an image of a sample by scanning it with a high-energy beam of electrons, which yields a 3 dimensional appearance useful for understanding the surface structure of a sample, for example an image of pollen. 

“We are very grateful to the National Nuclear Laboratory for this wonderful donation and to JEOL for the installation,” said Cockermouth School Headteacher, Geoff Walker.  “The microscope will be a great asset to the school, the Science Department and the students.”

The National Nuclear Laboratory based at Sellafield is a world renowned nuclear science and technology laboratory with cutting edge facilities. It is managed by a consortium made up of Serco, Battelle and the University of Manchester.