Overview of the APS
The Advanced Photon Source (APS) at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory provides this nation’s (in fact, this hemisphere’s) brightest storage ring-generated x-ray beams for research in almost all scientific disciplines.
Aerial photo of the Advanced Photon Source
These x-rays allow scientists to pursue new knowledge about the structure and function of materials in the center of the Earth and in outer space, and all points in between. The knowledge gained from this research can impact the evolution of combustion engines and microcircuits, aid in the development of new pharmaceuticals, and pioneer nanotechnologies whose scale is measured in billionths of a meter, to name just a few examples. These studies promise to have far-reaching impact on our technology, economy, health, and our fundamental knowledge of the materials that make up our world.
The APS electron accelerator and storage system are the first critical steps in producing the high-energy x-rays that are used for frontier research.
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