What is a ‘third-generation’ synchrotron?
The generation of a synchrotron is related to the technology used to produce synchrotron light. Synchrotrons were originally developed as “atom-smashers” – used by particle physicists to study the basic constituents of matter. The synchrotron light produced by these machines was considered a nuisance. However, in the 1960s physicists began to think about using the synchrotron light generated by the particle accelerators as a tool to study matter. First generation synchrotrons were built primarily for high-energy particle physics, with synchrotron light experiments performed parasitically. Second generation synchrotrons were dedicated to the production of synchrotron light (the UK built the first of these at Daresbury in 1980), based on bending magnets. Third generation synchrotrons are dedicated light sources which use special arrays of magnets called insertion devices, which produce even more intense and tuneable beams of light.
