What is a Synchrotron?
In a synchrotron charged particles, such as electrons, are accelerating through sequences of magnets until they reach almost the speed of light. The magnetic fields that bends the particle beam’s trajectory into its closed path increases with time during the accelerating process, is synchronized to increase the kinetic energy of the particles. These fast-moving electrons produce very bright light, called synchrotron light.
This very intense light, from microwaves to hard X-rays, is millions of times brighter than light produced from conventional sources and 10 billion times brighter than the sun. Thus, scientists can harness this light to study various fields of matter such as atoms, molecules and even archeological artifacts.
In each synchrotron facility, the radiation is deflected to specialized laboratories, called beam-lines. The machine operates around the clock to enable multiple experiments in parallels. The time allocation for each of the beamline is selected by peer-review panel upon application by the users.
General information
The Academy’s National Committee on Synchrotron Radiation promotes research in this field and serves as the primary provider and distributor of synchrotron radiation information among Israeli scientists. The committee closely monitors the decision-making processes at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF); committee chair Prof. Yuval Golan from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev serves as Israel's representative on the ESRF Council, and the Academy’s director-general, Ms. Galia Finzi, represents Israel on the Administrative & Financial Committee of the ESRF. Israeli researchers are active members of various ESRF administrative and planning committees. For example, Prof. Ada Yonath from the Weizmann Institute formerly served as a member of the ESRF’s Scientific Advisory Committee, and Prof. Boaz Pokroy from the Technion currently serves on that committee.
The National Committee on Synchrotron Radiation maintains connections with the European Synchrotron Users Organization (ESUO), which was established seven years ago to improve access to European synchrotron facilities for all European scientists using synchrotron radiation (about 10,000 scientists in all fields of the natural sciences, life sciences and engineering). The ESUO has improved access primarily by increasing the financial resources available to users, but also by advising facility managers regarding user needs. Prof. Meytal Landau from the Technion represents Israel at the ESUO.
Committee Members
Prof. Yuval Golan - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Chair)
Prof. Joel Hirsch - Tel Aviv University
Prof. Joel Sussman - Weizmann Institute of Science
Prof. Oded Livne - The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Prof. Boaz Pokroy - Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Prof. Sharon Shwartz - Bar-Ilan University.