World's brightest X-ray light-source is trillion times brighter than Sun
What's the story
Beijing is on the verge of completing a revolutionary project, the High Energy Photon Source (HEPS), which will be the world's brightest X-ray light source. Situated some 50km north of downtown Beijing, the facility will aid research in various fields including materials science, biomedicine, and physics. The HEPS will generate beams a trillion times brighter than the Sun's surface due to its extreme focus and precision.
Advanced capabilities
Aim to surpass similar facilities in Europe, US
The HEPS will be set to surpass similar facilities in Europe, Asia, and the US. "Once HEPS reaches its designed brightness, it will be capable of revealing the microscopic world in unprecedented detail," Pan Weimin, project director at the Institute of High Energy Physics (IHEP), which is spearheading the project, said. He added that this facility provides a powerful tool for manipulating matter and observing its entire life cycle.
Testing phase
HEPS undergoes light commissioning for system testing
The HEPS has now entered a critical stage of integrated system testing with real photon beams, called light commissioning. This is an important step for fine-tuning the machine before its trial operations start. Since the 1970s, more than 70 such light sources have been set up across the globe to help scientists understand complex material structures - from decoding virus structures to developing advanced aerospace materials, batteries, and semiconductors.