China is building the world biggest scientific experiment

China is super-sizing science.

From building the biggest experiments the world has ever seen to rolling out the latest medical advances on a massive scale and pushing the boundaries of exploration from the deepest ocean to outer space - China’s scientific ambitions are immense.

Just a few decades ago the nation barely featured in the world science rankings. Now, in terms of research spending and the number of scientific papers published, it stands only behind the US.

Nestling in a vast natural crater, China’s giant is about to come alive.

A colossal, steeply curved dish glints in the sunlight, surrounded by jagged mountains that cut into the sky. 

Construction workers, busy putting the finishing touches to this structure, look tiny against the huge backdrop. This is the largest radio telescope ever built, measuring 500m (1,640ft) across.

Situated in Guizhou Province, in the south-west of the country, Fast dwarfs all other radio telescopes.

The former record-holder was the Aricebo Observatory, in Puerto Rico, with a diameter of 305m (1,000ft).

The Lovell telescope at Jodrell Bank in the north of England measures 76m (249ft) across.

This isn’t simply one-up manship - bigger really is better when it comes to radio astronomy.

Source: BBC