News Release Communique
Canadian Light Source Synchrotron Achieves Key Technical Milestone
The Canadian Light Source synchrotron, now under construction at the University of Saskatchewan, has achieved an important milestone on the way to supplying brilliant light for scientific experiments by January of 2004.
This week, a beam of electrons travelling at nearly the speed of light was successfully transferred from the refurbished linear accelerator or 'linac' to the booster ring. It was then transported around the 100-metre circumference booster ring with substantial current for several millions of turns. The current was measured and detected on a monitor (Click here for an image).
"This is the synchrotron's second successful operating subsystem, and we're delighted that we've reached this significant milestone on time and on budget," said Mark de Jong, Interim Executive-Director of the Canadian Light Source Inc. (CLSI).
"We now have an operating booster ring that will be used to accelerate electrons and boost their energy. The next major milestone will be to inject the beam into the storage ring which is expected to be achieved in early 2003."
Later this week, the CLS commissioning team hopes to boost the energy of the beam for the first time. The team is led by accelerator physicist Les Dallin who designed both the booster and storage rings for the $173.4-million project.
The U of S-owned national facility is one of the largest scientific projects in Canada and one of the most advanced synchrotrons in the world.
Further testing to optimize performance of the booster ring will take place over the next year and a half. The booster ring uses magnetic fields to force the electrons to race in a circle and powerful radio waves to ramp the energy of the electron beam to 2.9 billion electron volts.
Once the speeding electrons are transferred to the 170-metre storage ring, powerful magnets will bend or accelerate the electrons to produce light over a spectrum from infrared to X-rays. This very bright and stable light will be directed down beamlines to hutches where scientists can use it for their experiments.
Synchrotron light -- millions of times brighter than sunlight -- is used to view chemical reactions and the micro-structure of materials, paving the way for new drugs, more powerful computer chips, better engine lubricants, more effective medical imaging and a host of other applications for science and industry.
In other synchrotron news, the U of S board of governors recently appointed Bernard Michel, chair and chief executive officer of uranium supplier Cameco Corporation, to the CLSI board of directors.
"With 35 years of distinguished engineering and management experience in the North American and European mining industry, Bernard will provide an invaluable industrial users' perspective to the CLSI board," said U of S President Peter MacKinnon.
The board of governors also approved two contracts worth a total of $1.4 million plus taxes and duty:
- a $723,560 contract to Air Liquide of Winnipeg for a liquid nitrogen system that will supply cooling to parts of the storage ring
- $700,400 contract to Danfysik A/S of Denmark for fabrication and supply of magnets and power supplies vital to storage ring operation. These special magnets merge an injected beam with a beam already circulating in the storage ring. Danfysik was identified as the only acceptable candidate based on schedule, cost and technical ability.
CLS funding partners include the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Canadian government (including Western Economic Diversification, Natural Resources Canada, the National Research Council, NSERC, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research), Saskatchewan Industry and Resources, Ontario Innovation Trust, Alberta Innovation and Science, Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research, U of S, the City of Saskatoon, SaskPower, and Boehringer Ingelheim, University of Western Ontario, and University of Alberta. GlaxoSmithKline has also provided funding for a U of S chair in an area of synchrotron science.
For more information on the CLS, visit: www.lightsource.ca
For more information, contact:
Kathryn Warden
U of S/CLS Research Communications
Tel: (306) 966-2506
kathryn.warden@usask.ca
Last modified: 2012-01-19 17:01:48