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Article: Big machine reveals small worlds.(synchrotron (particle accelerator))
- Article from:
- Science News for Kids
- Article date:
- October 24, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Inside a shiny new machine in suburban Melbourne, Australia, tiny particles are whizzing around at nearly the speed of light.
The football-field-size machine, called a synchrotron, uses tubes, magnets, vacuum pumps, and other gadgetry to produce intensely powerful beams of light. The giant contraption looks like something out of a science fiction movie.
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But it's no fantasy. Real scientists are using these huge machines to look deeper than ever into the structure of atoms and cells. The work is giving them insights into our bodies and our world.
"Every kid knows about microscopes that let you see what the eye ...