Just 40 years ago, the Photon Factory generated its first synchrotron radiation 2022-06-24 Construction of Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute was recommended by the Science Council of Japan in 1974. It was a groundbreaking concept to use the electromagnetic waves from the electron synchrotron for research in all material sciences. Unlike conventional joint-use laboratories, it is an interdisciplinary multi-purpose laboratory that can be used by researchers in a wide range of scientific fields. This idea was realized as a facility in the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics (KEK) in 1978. It is called “Photon Factory”. Construction of the building began at the same time, followed by the construction of the accelerators, beamlines, and experimental instruments. Four years later, on March 11, 1982, the first synchrotron radiation was successfully observed. –more
