Farewell Synchrotron

In August 2008, scientists paid tribute to the Synchrotron Radiation Source (SRS) at the Daresbury Laboratory. The world’s first second-generation synchrotron, SRS operated for 28 years and produced two million hours of science.

A league of its own

The SRS produced intense beams of light by accelerating high-energy electrons close to the speed of light. This light, called synchrotron radiation, reveals the structure of matter and has been used to produce new drugs and materials, cleaner fuels and safer aircraft, as well as to understand diseases and conserve historic artefacts such as the Mary Rose.

Better memories

Research at Daresbury also contributed to the huge magnetic memory of mp3 players such as iPods. X-rays created by the SRS helped examine a new type of molecular switch with the potential to increase the storage capacity in electronic devices.

A team of scientists, led by the University of Glasgow, used nanoparticles on a gold or carbon surface, a millionth of a millimetre in size, to help control the switching ability and pave the way for the next generation of electronics with far greater data storage.

Foot and Mouth

The 2001 outbreak of foot and mouth disease cost the UK economy an estimated £8.4 billion. A collaboration of scientists from Porton Down, Oxford University and Wellcome Biotech used the SRS to examine the three dimensional structure of the virus.

It was the first animal virus structure to be determined in Europe and this work is helping to produce vaccines against the disease to prevent a future outbreak.

Scientific expertise

The SRS attracted researchers from around the world. Users bought access and customers included industry (in particular pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies), museums, hospitals and universities.

As a result of its reputation, other scientific facilities gravitated towards the site culminating, in 2006, with the establishment of the Daresbury Science and Innovation Campus.

A bright future

Research at SRS helped Sir John Walker share a Nobel Prize for chemistry. It also pioneered the technique of protein crystallography, giving the UK a world-class reputation in this area. As a result, the Wellcome Trust invested £50 million into SRS’s successor, the Diamond Light Source, to continue this important research.

“The SRS has kept the UK at the forefront of scientific research and now passes its baton onto the new Diamond Light Source in Oxfordshire,” said Professor Ian Munro, who was one of the first to suggest using synchrotron radiation for scientific research. “Diamond will continue to build on the positive legacy of synchrotron light research in this country.”

Synchrotrons have their roots in particle physics experiments, where scientists were trying to minimise the energy lost by particles as radiation – until they saw its usefulness and a new scientific tool was born.

SRS research has advanced:

• Research in HIV/AIDS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease, malaria and Motor Neuron Disease
• Drug discovery
• Cleaner fuel and lower emissions from car exhausts
• Safer aircraft Archaeological conservation