A brief history of synchrotron light
last modified
16-10-2008 08:44
| The first accelerators
(cyclotrons) were built by particle physicists in the 1930s. The nucleus
of the atom was split using the collision of high energy particles. From
the results of these collisions the physicists tried to deduce the laws
of fundamental physics that govern our world and the whole of the universe.
Synchrotron radiation was seen for the first time at the General Electric in the USA in 1947 in a different type of accelerator (synchrotron). It was first considered a nuisance because it caused the particles to lose energy, but it was then recognised in the 1960s as light with exceptional properties. |
Prof. John Rehr: seminar and practical on FEFF9