Harwell: Diamond Light Source

Less distorted in large.

All the curves here are meant to be curved! I've corrected the lens's distortion, but the donut-shaped building that houses the UK's synchrotron at Harwell is a strange-feeling space, which I think is still evident in my image. Diamond Light Source is a massive facility dedicated to all sorts of scientific imaging and investigation using the electromagnetic spectrum: it is like a giant set of microscopes all sharing a common source of super-bright and highly regulated 'light' (in the broad sense). The main storage ring (inside which the boosted light whizzes) is inside the inner shielding wall (visible curving around to the left-hand side of the image), and the experimental beamlines lie outside this (in the main chamber visible here). The different beamlines harness different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum (from x-rays through ultraviolet, visible light, and infrared) and do a variety of things with it (some examine the way that specimens scatter it, others use it as as the 'light' source for powerful x-ray microscopes, &c.). We were shown three of the beamlines (out of 24 currently in operation); much more info (including a neat animation) can be found here.

After Diamond, we visited Isis Neutron Source, which is another facility which serves as a vast suite of super-microscopes... Isis utilises neutrons and muons, and also houses numerous detectors around the main neutron and muon generators. It was amazing to see such sophisticated instruments, and I was rather awed by the investment of time, expertise, energy, and money that was evident in the various facilities at Harwell.

I've uploaded a small album of photos to Flickr (here) showing Diamond and Isis and some of their equipment and spaces.