Neutron and Synchrotron Science: World class science in your own backyard
Chemical research in Australia using neutron and X-ray scattering is about to enter a 'golden age', with bright new neutron and photon sources coming online in Sydney and Melbourne respectively. The OPAL Research Reactor and the Australian Synchrotron together represent an investment well in excess of $500M, and together can be considered as the greatest single investment in scientific infrastructure in Australia's history. They will essentially be 'sister' facilities with substantial instrumental complementarity, a common open user ethos and a vision to play a major role in international science.
The commissioning of both facilities has been on comparable timelines. The OPAL reactor achieved criticality in August 2006 and reached full power (20 MW) two months later; while the Australian Synchrotron achieved first light in July 2006, and reached full beam current (200 mA) in December 2007.
Seven of the first nine neutron scattering instruments at OPAL will become available in early 2008 for routine operation. They can be broadly divided into 3 instrumental classes: neutron diffractometers to study atomic structure and chemical reactivity in crystalline materials; small angle neutron scattering and neutron reflectometry for the study of soft condensed matter, biology and nanoscale magnetism; and inelastic neutron scattering to study the energetics of molecular interactions, magnetism and critical phenomena.
Five of the first nine synchrotron beamlines are expected to become available in early 2008, these being the protein crystallography; powder diffraction; X-ray absorption spectroscopy; soft X-ray; and infrared beamlines. Together these instruments will allow examination of a variety of problems including: measurement of short and long range atomic order; characterisation of thin films and surfaces; and the determination of bond lengths and atomic oxidation states in bulk materials. Many synchrotron studies may be performed in situ and examined on a 'real' timescale.
This presentation will give an update on the status of both facilities including examples of their scientific potential and data from the first instruments to be commissioned.