China Opens World's Most Advanced Hypergravity Facility

China has activated the Centrifugal Hypergravity and Interdisciplinary Experiment Facility (CHIEF), the world's most advanced hypergravity machine, located in Hangzhou. Capable of generating forces up to 1,900 times greater than Earth's gravity, CHIEF aims to facilitate research across various scientific fields, including advanced materials science and engineering challenges. The facility, which began construction in 2020 with an investment of approximately $277 million, will house three primary centrifuges and 18 units, with the first centrifuge's main engine already installed. The Hangzhou government has hailed the facility's preliminary completion as a significant milestone in hypergravity research, promising to fill a gap in large hypergravity experimentation capabilities in China. This project is expected to enhance understanding of geological processes and material behaviors, thereby advancing engineering technologies. Once fully operational, CHIEF is set to surpass the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' hypergravity facility, which can only produce up to 1,200 times Earth's gravity.