Abingdon twin towns scientists marvel at science in Oxfordshire
Scientists from Abingdon’s twin towns in France, Germany and Belgium have taken part in a special Science Twinning Weekend
organised by the Abingdon and District Twin Towns Society.
During the visit, 10 scientists from Argentan, Schongau and Sint-Niklaas toured Diamond Light Source, the UK national synchrotron,
on the Harwell Science & Innovation Campus, and JET at Culham.
Whilst at Diamond, the visiting scientists and their hosts learnt that the facility,
which was officially opened by Her Majesty The Queen in October 2007,
currently has 13 experimental stations up and running
and that these ‘beamlines’ are being used to progress research in fields ranging from medical and environmental sciences
to nanoscience and cultural heritage studies.
In order to produce the brilliant beams of light that make this science possible, Diamond needs to accelerate electrons to nearly the speed of light.
No simple task when you consider that if a Ferrari could even get that fast it would need to be accelerated for a whopping 14 months.
Jeroen Mebis, a physics teacher from Sint-Niklass, found the Diamond visit fascinating and remarked,
“This was my first visit to a synchrotron and I am very grateful for the opportunity to see such as special machine up close.
With its wide range of uses, Diamond is an inspiration to those interested in all areas of science – from biology right through to computing.
I will certainly be telling my students all about Diamond, how it works and what kinds of experiments can be done at this fantastic facility.
The animations that illustrate how the light is produced make difficult physics concepts very easy to understand.”
During the visit, members of the Abingdon and District Twin Towns Society and their guests were also invited to add a stitch
to Diamond’s World’s largest diffraction pattern – an innovative textile project which brings science and art together
to provide a platform for scientists to explain their research to the public in an engaging and imaginative way.
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