New Canadian Synchrotron Promises Improved Research Capability
Farmscape for February 24, 2003 (Episode 1185) A researcher with the University of Saskatchewan says Canada's new 174 million dollar synchrotron is creating an exciting opportunity for scientists across Canada. A synchrotron produces unlimited intensity light for use in industrial and science applications. The University of Saskatchewan facility is one of about 40 synchrotrons around the world and will be operational by next January. U of S Research Associate Dr. Rex Newkirk says the Canadian Light Source Synchrotron Project creates an opportunity for scientists throughout Canada, especially those in Western Canada, who will have close access. Clip-Dr. Rex Newkirk-University of Saskatchewan Basically light is very important. If you want to measure something at a very small level you need to have a very intense source of light. A good analogy is if you want to read a book with fine print under low light you can't do it. There's not enough light going there and coming back that you can read anything and the same is true of studying materials. If you want to go to a very fine level, right down to the molecular level, you need to have very intense light going so you can measure how much comes back. This gives you no limit to the intensity. It's in the order of millions of times brighter than the sun. Currently we can focus on cells and we can see organelles and we can see things floating around within the cell with light microscopes. With the synchrotron we can now focus way beyond that and look within the cell at very specific portions of the cell and understand right down to the molecular level of atoms. Dr. Newkirk plans to use the synchrotron to further his own research into improving the digestibility of feed grains. However, he says, the facility has a wide range of applications from examining minerals to medical imaging to understanding proteins and lignins and it promises to be a wonderful tool for scientists in Canada. For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane. *Farmscape is a presentation of Sask Pork and Manitoba Pork Council