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These articles were published in our popular science magazine: Inside Diamond
Accelerator tunnel at the European XFEL (Courtesy EU-XFEL)
If you’ve never heard of XFELs then get ready for that to change. X-ray Free Electron Lasers – to use their full name – are the next big thing in scientific technology and they are reshaping the way we approach some of the world’s most challenging experiments.
What is it?
XFELs produce extremely bright light which perfectly complements the light produced at synchrotrons like Diamond. And they both work in a similar way. In the XFEL, electrons are generated and accelerated to increase their energy. But instead of speeding round a ring, like at Diamond, they are shot down a straight line.
Diamond Light Source at night
Diamond Light Source is the UK's national synchrotron science facility, located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.
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