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2. Continuous spectrum - from infrared to hard X-rays
Properties
• medical imaging and therapy
• materials engineering
• environment
• forensics
• manufacturing
• medicine and pharmaceuticals
• agriculture
• minerals
• micromachining
The diverse uses of synchrotrons
Uses and applications
conventional X-ray
X-ray imaging: human finger
synchrotron synchrotron: phase contrast
Uses and applications
X-ray imaging: iron in livers
2mm
Uses and applications
Rat heart
Uses and applications
Materials Engineering
The Australian Defence Force has used synchrotron light to help develop improved ceramic coatings for jet engines.
These coatings protect the engines and allow for greater thrust.
Uses and applications
Environment
Synchrotrons are being used to investigate the sources of pollutants in water supplies.
Resulting in cleaner drinking water in developing countries.
Uses and applications
Environment
Air samples collected from New York after the collapse of the World Trade Centre were analysed at a United States synchrotron.
The results showed how the debris pile acted like a chemical factory and emitted toxic metals, acids and organics, all with potential health impacts.
Uses and applications
Forensics
Extremely small samples from crime scenes can be analysed using synchrotron technology.
Forged documents and counterfeit money can be detected using synchrotron techniques.
Uses and applications
ManufacturingCadbury UK wanted to produce the most stable, smooth and best- tasting chocolate. They utilised a synchrotron to investigate the manufacturing process at the molecular level to optimise production conditions.
Food scientists have long known that as cocoa butter cools it can solidify into several different crystalline structures. Most agree there are six crystal structures, prosaically named polymorph I to VI. Each has distinct properties—some favourable, some not.
The lower numbered polymorphs are no good for chocolate–they are too sticky and unstable. The natural and most stable form is polymorph VI but it is very brittle and makes a bland chocolate.
Polymorph V makes the best chocolate. It has a melting point just below body temperature so it dissolves in the mouth. But polymorph V is difficult to make and converts to other polymorphs.
Uses and applications
The key to making polymorph V is tempering - quickly cooling the hot mixture produces low number polymorphs. With slow reheating these turn to polymorph V.
So what is the optimum combination of heating, cooling and stirring needed to deliver smooth, melt-in-the-mouth, polymorph V chocolate?
That’s where synchrotron light comes in. It allows the crystal structures to be monitored as they are forming, while the cocoa butter is being heated, tempered and stirred. The intensity of synchrotron light makes such in situexperiments possible.
Medicine and pharmaceuticals
By modelling virus proteins, medicines can be created to block these proteins.
For example, Relenza, which blocks the life cycle of the flu virus, which was created by CSIRO scientists using synchrotron technology.
Uses and applications
Agriculture
A synchrotron was used to confirm the structure of a new wool fibre in comparison to silk.
Scientists created Optim - a fibre made from wool that mimics the structure of silk. The fibre is now in commercial production.
Uses and applications
Minerals
Using synchrotron light scientists have studied nickel and cobalt during extraction.
Using this information to optimise production conditions can increase extraction rates from 60% up to 95%.
Uses and applications
Micromachining
Synchrotron light is used to manufacture tiny machine parts.
Inkjet printer heads are an everyday example of this micromachining.
An ant investigating a tiny cog
A minute cog resting inside the eye of a needle
Uses and applications
2003 Nobel Prize for Chemistry
Biochemists Peter Agre and Roderick MacKinnon used a US synchrotron as part of their 2003 Nobel Prize for Chemistry research on how water flows across cellular membranes and how cells communicate.
Their work will help with the understanding of molecular pathways of disease.
Uses and applications
Similar radiation to that used by the synchrotron is also emitted from astronomical sources.
The glow in the photograph is due to very fast electrons moving in curved paths into magnetic fields.
The orange spot is a galaxy ‘M87’
This galaxy is in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies, located about 60 million light years away from us.
Photo courtesy: NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre (NASA-GSFC)
Uses and applications
Further reading and resourcesAn excellent animation showing the production of x-rays in a synchrotron can be viewed at
www.isa.au.dk/animations/Finalmovie/astrid_ total_ v2.mov
The State Government of Victoria has further background material
www.synchrotron.vic.gov.au
The Canadian Synchrotron website has further resources
www.lightsource.ca
UWA scientist Dr Peter Hammond has a site on synchrotrons that can be viewed at http://internal.physics.uwa.edu.au/~hammond/SyncRes/
