Science and Art at Diamond
Science and art have been close linked together throughout history, from Da Vinci to 21st century synchrotron science.
Using Art, Diamond hopes to imaginatively highlight and reflect the mix of science cultures here. Thousands of people have been involved in our science and art projects, and ongoing projects hope to engage thousands more.
Science just a stitch away - the world's largest diffraction pattern
The World’s largest diffraction pattern is exciting art and science project which has been created to provide a platform for scientists to explain their research to the public in an engaging and imaginative way. It is a textile representation of a diffraction pattern linked to the research undertaken at Diamond by the pioneering biopharmaceutical company Evotec.
What is diffraction?
The image depicted on the left is called a diffraction pattern. Diffraction patterns are obtained by scientists during their experiments at Diamond Light Source. They lead to a 3-D representation of the structure of a specific biological target which can be used to help find cures for specific diseases. The pattern shown here is that of a target called Serine Racemase. Serine Racemase is an important biological target in the fight against pain and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. This diffraction pattern is one of the first ever collected for this specific biological target and was done by scientists from Evotec.
The World’s largest diffraction pattern will receive stitches from far and wide as the project will be taken to Paris next week for its celebrations as European City of Science and to Chicago for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting in February 2009.
Take part in the diffraction project
Download an invitation to take part in the project:
