Because he's a huge dork, Mr. Syracuse spent Tuesday morning of February break about 15 m underground in the Wilson Synchrotron Lab. The lab contains a particle accelerator, an electron/positron storage ring, X-ray creation equipment, and much more. The lab can accelerate and smash electrons to create X-rays which can be used to perform X-ray crystallography. This process can help determine the structure of proteins and other molecules. There were lots of shiny buttons and things that I really REALLY wanted to play with, but knew they would probably kill me, so I didn't. Ah well. Check out the pictures, and contact Mr. Syracuse if you'd like a tour -- they're available at no charge!
One of my best friends works at Wilson, and my husband worked there till he moved over to the Astronomy Dept. My nephew works at CHESS.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, and I had first met Chuck, I did a number of tours--might have even rode the bikes that took them from one side of the ring to the other.
As time went on, I became less and less of a willing participant of tours....I am an English major, you know.
Maybe I'll scan my picture I have of my husband's graffiti that is somewhere in the building...under carpeting!
You brought back memories, thanks!