The Swiss Army knife of science: peering into the atomic world

Gardening · Published 18 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: How do we see the secrets of ancient texts, the failure of batteries, or the way a drug stops a virus? We use a particle accelerator to create light so intense it reveals the hidden architecture of matter at the nanoscale.

A synchrotron light source functions by accelerating charged particles, typically electrons, to more than 99 percent of the speed of light. These particles travel in a closed loop, such as a storage ring. Every time the electrons are forced to change direction by bending magnets, they emit a cone of light known as synchrotron radiation. To further intensify this light, electrons can be forced to wiggle through special arrays of magnets called undulators, producing even brighter X-rays.

The resulting light is characterized by extreme brilliance, high collimation, and high levels of polarization. These properties allow scientists to probe matter with exquisite sensitivity, revealing electronic, chemical, and atomic structures. For example, the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) uses a 3 GeV electron storage ring to generate ultrabright beams ranging from infrared to hard x-rays. These beams are directed into 30 different experimental stations, or beamlines, each equipped with unique tools for specific research goals.

Because of this versatility, synchrotrons are used across diverse fields. Researchers use them to study neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, develop efficient catalysts and fuel cell chemistries, and analyze cultural heritage. The facility at Brookhaven National Laboratory, for instance, supports everything from drug design and microelectronics to studying the behavior of molecular building blocks and their influence on the environment. It is one of the most expensive light sources known, but it remains the only viable source for certain wide-band radiation applications, such as far-infrared absorption spectrometry.

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