The Diamond Light Source in Oxfordshire, is the UK’s synchrotron (a particular kind of particle accelerator). At Diamond, electrons are sped up to near-light-speed, until they give off light 10 billion times brighter than the sun.
The Diamond Light Source in Oxfordshire, is the UK’s synchrotron. Click to learn more about Diamond at diamond.ac.uk
Scientists researching all kinds of different things use this light to study everything from fossils to viruses.
Working like a giant microscope — but 10,000 times more powerful — it is one of the most advanced facilities in the world. It is shaped like a very big doughnut, with a circumference of half a kilometer.
More than 3,000 researchers use Diamond, and in this zone we’ll meet five of those scientists using Diamond to advance their research. There’s a scientist working on how the Earth was formed, and another torturing crystals to make sensors with. One scientist is developing new drugs to fight bad bugs, as well as one working with molecular sponges which might be able to store fuel to power our cars! And finally, one scientist is digging up very dead things to try and work out how they were preserved.
You can find out more about the scientists in this zone, and what they work on by reading their profiles. Click on their names at the top of this page to find out more!