A brief guide to synchrotron radiation
Created | Updated Jun 11, 2002
Synchrotron radiation, sounds impressive doesn't it? Just think how many people you can impress at parties if you can talk knowledgably about it. So here's the quick and dirty low-down.
What's a synchrotron?
There's already an answer to this question in the Guide, at http://www.h2g2.com/A305407 I'm not going to duplicate it, so go and read that first.
What's synchrotron radiation?
When you deflect electrons from their path (you have read what synchrotrons are, haven't you?) they produce X-rays. These X-rays are known as synchrotron radiation. They're more energetic than the kind of X-rays used in hospitals and so forth, and they can be very finely focussed.
What's synchrotron radiation good for then?
Well, mostly scientific research. Probing the finer structures of all kinds of things, from bluetongue viruses to magnetic crystals. All kinds of scientists use it, biologists, materials scientists, physicists, earth scientists...
Where can I find out more?
You can go to http://www.esrf.fr which is the home page of my local synchrotron. There you can find much more than I could ever hope to tell you in this brief guide.
What are your credentials?
Well, I'm an undergraduate student of physics, and I've sat in on two experiments at the ESRF as part of my course. And I'm pretty good at bluffing :-)
What's a synchrotron?
There's already an answer to this question in the Guide, at http://www.h2g2.com/A305407 I'm not going to duplicate it, so go and read that first.
What's synchrotron radiation?
When you deflect electrons from their path (you have read what synchrotrons are, haven't you?) they produce X-rays. These X-rays are known as synchrotron radiation. They're more energetic than the kind of X-rays used in hospitals and so forth, and they can be very finely focussed.
What's synchrotron radiation good for then?
Well, mostly scientific research. Probing the finer structures of all kinds of things, from bluetongue viruses to magnetic crystals. All kinds of scientists use it, biologists, materials scientists, physicists, earth scientists...
Where can I find out more?
You can go to http://www.esrf.fr which is the home page of my local synchrotron. There you can find much more than I could ever hope to tell you in this brief guide.
What are your credentials?
Well, I'm an undergraduate student of physics, and I've sat in on two experiments at the ESRF as part of my course. And I'm pretty good at bluffing :-)
