Diamond Synchrotron
What cost £260 million to build, has
a half kilometre circumference and
uses the energy of a small town?
The answer is the Diamond
Synchrotron, the UK’s giant
microscope located at Harwell
Science and Innovation
Campus in Oxfordshire.
Optical microscopes can study
objects that are a few microns
(0.001mm) in size (e.g. the size of
cells). However, to study smaller
objects like molecules and atoms,
scientists use the special light
generated by the synchrotron.
Electron particles are generated in an electron
gun, fired into the machine and accelerated
to almost the speed of light by three particle
accelerators, moving from linac (linear
accelerator) to booster synchrotron to large
storage ring. Entering the storage ring, the
electrons are moving fast enough to travel
around the whole world 7.5 times a second.
Although the synchrotron building is circular,
shaped like a doughnut ring, the storage
ring is actually a 48-sided figure called a
tetracontakaioctagon. The electrons travel
around 48 straight sections and are angled at
junctions by 48 bending magnets which steer
the electrons around the ring whilst also exciting
the electrons to give off even more light.
10 IGNIS
When the straight lines of the electrons reach
the bending magnets, lost energy is given off
as photons, ultraviolet light, infrared or x-rays
and this is channelled out of the storage ring to
the experimental stations, called beamlines.
Scientists at the beamline stations use the
different light wavelengths to illuminate
superpowerful microscopes which are used to look
at the structure of all sorts of materials in fine
detail. 3,000 scientists a year in both the academic
and commercial sector use this information to
examine everything from the molecules in our
body - for example proteins, viruses and D