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Volume 12, Issue 25, Week of June 22, 2015
Saskatoonʼs REAL Community Newspaper
Synchrotron turns 10 Canadian Light Source produces brightest light in Canada
Rob Lamb, CEO of the Canadian Light Source, says the research centre has had “amazing support from the local community.” (CLS Photo)
T
Shannon Boklaschuk Saskatoon Express
he Canadian Light Source (CLS) — considered one of the largest science projects in Canada’s history — is celebrating 10 years of operating in Saskatoon. Located at the University of Saskatchewan (U of S), the national centre for synchrotron research boasts the brightest light in Canada and has put Saskatoon on the map in the international scientific community. Rob Lamb, CEO of the Canadian Light Source, said the synchrotron is an “amazing instrument.” “It’s a $366-million flashlight of the world’s most perfect light — the universe’s most perfect light,” he said. “Trust me – if you have the most perfect light, you can see everything.” Lamb moved to Saskatoon from Melbourne, Australia, to take the helm of the CLS in September 2014. His excitement
about the synchrotron, and his enthusiasm about the scientific potential it holds, is evident in his voice when he speaks. “This is a really good opportunity,” he said of his new job. “There’s got to be at least 45 synchrotrons in the world, but there’s probably about a dozen serious ones — and this is one of them.” While Saskatoon is home to the stateof-the-art, world-class facility, some local citizens may be unfamiliar it. And some may wonder what, exactly, is a synchrotron. When looking for a comprehensive definition, a good source is the CLS website. It describes a synchrotron as “a source of brilliant light that enables scientists to study the microstructure and chemical properties of materials. Extremely bright synchrotron light is produced by using radio frequency waves and powerful magnets to accelerate electrons close to the speed of light. The light — spanning the spectrum from infrared light to high energy X-rays — is shone down beamlines
to laboratory endstations where researchers select specific wavelengths of light to observe matter down to the atomic level.” How does the synchrotron assist scientists in their research? And does synchrotron research have practical applications? Again, the CLS website provides clear answers: “Synchrotrons can be used to analyze a host of physical, chemical, geological and biological processes. Information obtained by researchers can be used to develop ways to help reduce greenhouse gases and clean up mining wastes, examine the structure of surfaces to develop more effective paints and motor oils, design new drugs, develop new materials for products ranging from solar panels to safer medical implants and build more powerful computer chips. New applications are being thought of all the time – synchrotron experiments are even helping with the search for other life in the universe.” Innovation is certainly taking place at Saskatoon’s synchrotron. Last November, for example, the CLS announced the first
shipment of medical isotopes produced in its dedicated linear accelerator. The Medical Isotope Project (MIS) is the first of its kind in the world, using X-rays to create the isotopes as opposed to using traditional nuclear-reactor based methods. “What we’re doing is we’re actually making it without a nuclear reactor; we’re just using the light,” Lamb explained. “Most of the things you do with synchrotrons, it’s about using the light to observe things. Now we’re creating something with the light, and we’re the first synchrotron in the world to do it.” While local and national researchers use the synchrotron, Lamb said about onethird come from international communities. Since it opened in 2005, the CLS has hosted 2,584 users, including researchers, scientists, students, engineers and people from institutes and universities. It has also delivered more than 40,000 “research shifts” since opening a decade ago — totalling 320,056 hours, or 36.5 years. (Continued on page 4)