Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: Nature
Context: China is set to become the first country in Asia with a fourth-generation synchrotron light source with the completion of the High Energy Photon Source (HEPS).
- This advanced facility will produce some of the world’s brightest X-rays, significantly enhancing research capabilities across various scientific fields.
- HEPS will accelerate electrons to 6 gigaelectron volts, enabling high-resolution imaging at nanometre scales and facilitating rapid experiments.
About HEPS (High Energy Photon Source):
- HEPS is recognized as the brightest synchrotron X-ray source in Asia.
Technology used:
- Synchrotrons use electricity to generate intense beams of light, over a million times brighter than the sun.
- They utilize a multi-bend achromat lattice, a complex array of magnets, to produce narrower and brighter X-ray beams.
India previously developed its own synchrotron, Indus-1.
India is an associate member of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble, France.
