A ROYAL guest has visited AWE Aldermaston to take a tour of the Orion laser facility.

His Royal Highness The Duke of York visited the facility on Tuesday last week, where he was told about the capabilities and workings of the laser by senior scientific figures from AWE.

The Duke made the trip in his capacity as UK patron of the International Year of Light 2015 – a United Nations initiative to raise awareness of light science and its applications.

The Duke said: “It’s not often that people get the chance to really appreciate the work that goes on at AWE.

“What you are doing is absolutely important. Your establishment and in particular Orion, present an exciting opportunity for young people interested in a career in science and technology.”

Orion is a high-powered laser, the size of a football pitch, and is one of the largest capital science investments in the UK. It can create conditions similar to those found at the heart of the sun.

Dr Graeme Nicholson, AWE technical director, said: “AWE is delighted that The Duke of York chose to visit Orion in his role as patron of the International Year of Light.

“We are extremely proud of the work carried out at Orion which provides essential support to the UK’s nuclear deterrent programme.

“High-powered lasers enable us to replicate in the laboratory the physical conditions at the heart of a nuclear detonation – albeit on a minute scale and over a tiny fraction of a second. Working at pressures and densities found nowhere else on earth these plasma physics experiments underpin the UK nuclear deterrent programme.”

AWE's chief scientist Professor Andrew Randewich, who also met the Duke, said: “It was a privilege to show His Royal Highness around Orion, a facility of which I am particularly proud.

“With an increasingly demanding technical programme, this is a really important area of work for AWE.”