Diamond Light Source Virtual Tour

Wednesday 6th April 2022

Start: 2.00pm | Finish: 4.00pm

This event has passed

Diamond Light Source is the UK’s national synchrotron. It works like a giant microscope, harnessing the power of electrons to produce bright light that scientists can use to study anything from fossils to jet engines to viruses and vaccines.

Diamond is a synchrotron; a huge scientific machine, more than half a kilometre in circumference, designed to produce very intense beams of X-rays, infrared and ultraviolet light. For centuries, scientists have used microscopes to study things that are too small to see with the naked eye, however microscopes are limited by the visible light that they use. Optical microscopes can be used to study objects that are a few microns (0.001mm) in size, about the size of cells. To study smaller objects like molecules and atoms, scientists need to use the special light generated by the synchrotron.
 

The machine accelerates electrons to near light speeds so that they give off light 10 billion times brighter than the sun. These bright beams are then directed off into laboratories known as ‘beamlines’. Here, scientists use the light to study a vast range of subject matter, from new medicines and treatments for disease to innovative engineering and cutting-edge technology.

Whether it’s fragments of ancient paintings or unknown virus structures, at the synchrotron, scientists can study their samples using a machine that is 10,000 times more powerful than a traditional microscope.

Diamond is one of the most advanced scientific facilities in the world, and its pioneering capabilities are helping to keep the UK at the forefront of scientific research.

Join the Master on this fascinating virtual tour of this cutting edge, scientific facility, which will be conducted by Zoom.

When you apply for this virtual tour we will send you a link to register for your places.

You can read about Diamond Light Source here https://www.diamond.ac.uk/Home/About.html

---