How did SSRL produce its first X-ray beam?
In 1972 SPEAR (Stanford Positron Electron Asymmetric Ring) had been built as a circular ring to smash particles into each other. However scientists had long known that forcing particles to deviate from a straight line released energy in the form of synchrotron radiation. Stanford scientists decided to add a tangential port to harness this radiations, and in 1973, after installation of the port, they were able to generate the facility's first X-ray beam. The scientists would continue their work in the years to come to tune the x-rays so they could potentially peer into the atomic structures of biological molecules, along with many other useS of such x-ray radiation.
To learn more about how synchrotrons work: https://www6.slac.stanford.edu/resear...
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Video produced by Olivier Bonin / SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
