“Stored beam has been lost.”

If you have ever been a User at the Diamond synchrotron you will probably be irritatingly used to these words. These words are quite likely a sign that the experiment you have spent a lot of time and effort preparing for has been cut short due to a problem with the synchrotron beam. This happened in my visit on my first day not long after I arrived, and the beam was lost for 4 and a half hours. I saw the light… but didn’t get a good look at it.

My name is Ashley Brew and my PhD work is so different to the work I am helping Pete and John with (Hydrogen Fuel Cells) but in that way it is so interesting (and a hell of a lot of new info to take in). This place is also such a unique place to visit in it’s design and work life.