A girl in a physics world. : Week 2 at SLAC

Wednesday, 13th July

Today I got to see the AMAZING Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL), a particle accelerator that produces extremely bright x-rays!

These x-rays can then be used to study our world on an incredibly small scale - the atomic and molecular level. Electrons are accelerated and then forced to take a circular path using magnets in the synchrotron and every time the electrons go round a bend they produce radiation. This radiation can then be used for x-ray related experiments in 30 small experimental rooms! It's so cool that 30 different experiments can all happen at once at SSRL! Efficiency right there!

Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource

Radiation signs outside SSRL

A wiggler - it's basically a set of magnets that cause electrons to 'wiggle' from left-to-right or up-to-down depending on how it's orientated

SSRL

Check out my SSRL tour video below - it should give you a flavour of the sheer size of the synchrotron.

Later on in the day, I was given my SLAC badge which meant one EXCITING thing - I could finally enter the incredible labs at LCLS! As soon as I got my badge I was straight into the Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography (MFX) experimental area where they were having problems triggering the Optical Parametric Oscillator (OPO) laser.

I finally got my SLAC badge

I love this piece of detector art that is hung in the Visitor's Centre at SLAC - found whilst I was waiting for my SLAC badge to be issued

An interactive SLAC map which shows just how long the LINAC (linear particle accelerator) is (as well as how dark my tan is after spending two weeks in California!)

The MFX experimental area was only open for use a few months ago and I managed to catch the first ever experiment in there! This experiment focused on developing spectroscopic techniques to study hemoglobin which is found in the blood and transports oxygen around our bodies and gives blood the red colour. How cool?! I got a chance to see their experimental set up and see the class 4 x-ray free electron laser in all its glory! Find out more about the experiment here - there's also a construction timelapse too!

Laser goggles for protection against a range of wavelengths: 180 - 532 nm

MFX experimental room - central tube is where the x-ray beam is.

I love the cute moustache on this experimental chamber found at SLAC in CXI hutch

Later, I found out that one of researchers there (one of the bosses of my supervisor) lived in the same area as me whilst he was doing his undergrad at Imperial and we studied the same course at Imperial! Woah, what a small world! Nice to have fellow Imperial people at SLAC - makes me feel at home. :)

Thursday, 14th July

My day began with completing my online laser safety training course which made sure that I knew what all the laser safety signs meant, how a laser can damage my eyes or skin and how I can protect myself in the lab and carry out tasks in a safe manner.

After lunch, I began another stage of my laser safety training which was a hands on workshop type session where I had to physically turn on four lasers of different wavelengths (red, blue, green and infrared) and align the laser using irises. Other tasks included placing a polariser, periscope, mirrors and some plano-convex lenses in the correct place and in a safe manner. Periscopes are used to change the height of a beam, a polariser 'filters' out a specific polarisation of light, lenses change the beam size and well, you know what mirrors do. :)

The training lasted 3 hours but it was the most useful 3 hours ever - after the session I felt like I was ready to start doing some laser work with the big dogs! ;) By the end of it, I got a certificate that rated me as an advanced laser user! Yay! :)

Friday, 15th July

Today was a very varied day.. My day began with a Laser Worker Baseline Medical Exam in the SLAC Medical Centre where I went through a few medical tests just to check that I was fit enough to work in a laser lab. I had to take a quick eye test to check that my sight was good enough and then a bright light was shined on my eye to check for any hemorrhages or retinal damage. Thankfully I passed the test and now I'm fit and ready to start work in the lab once I've completed further online training. And that's how I spent the rest of the morning - doing more online tests and adding more certificates to my collection. :)

Just came out of my Laser Worker Baseline Medical Exam - eyes have been checked and I'm fit enough to work in a laser lab! :)

After my medical exam I was shown the INCREDIBLE LCLS control room where they control the x-ray free electron laser from here remotely! And I've even heard of the possibility of controlling it from your iPhone too! How cool?!

At lunch time I spent some time with some SLAC staff (#Networking) and then ended up getting a ride in an old American police car! That was definitely an experience I will never forget!

An American police car with all police features removed so that it can be used as a normal car.

Just outside SLAC gardens: epic tree and ex-American police car

FUN FACT: At SLAC you can have your own piece of land to set up a small garden and grow your own vegetables or fruit or flowers or whatever you'd like! Here's what some SLAC staff have grown:

Soon to be blackberries.. grown at SLAC gardens

Prickly pears grown at SLAC gardens

The afternoon was dedicated to a small SLAC intern social which consisted of liquid nitrogen ice cream and chocolate frozen banana! Mmmmmm... It was so tasty! Not only did I get some tasty treats but I also got to meet some other interns and check out their work places and find out more about the work that they were doing. LCLS have over 40 interns (!) this summer and I found out that about 30% of SLAC interns were female! This percentage is higher than that of my undergraduate year so that was nice to know!