ALSNews is a biweekly electronic newsletter to keep users and other interested parties informed about developments at the Advanced Light Source, a national user facility located at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, University of California. To be placed on the mailing list, send your name and complete internet address to ALSNews@lbl.gov. We welcome suggestions for topics and content.

Previous Issues are available.


ALSNews           Vol. 51           May 1, 1996

Table of Contents


    1. OPERATIONS UPDATE
    2. YOUNG PEOPLE DISCOVER SCIENCE IS FUN
    3. ALS PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR ORDERING
    4. CALL FOR INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATOR PROPOSALS

All over the Northern Hemisphere, May 1 is the occasion for celebrations of spring. In that spirit, greetings from the ALS, where the California poppies are in riotous bloom and a herd of goats is contentedly munching the grass on the hillside. When spring looks like this and the ALS is in a scheduled shutdown, we wouldn't be surprised to see a few scientists outside, using laptop computers to draft papers on their latest results, or even (gasp!) playing Frisbee. We hope spring (or autumn) where you are is as beautiful!

1. OPERATIONS UPDATE
(contact: rmmiller@lbl.gov)

The ALS is in a scheduled shutdown for major installations and maintenance (more on major shutdown activities appears in ALSNews Vol. 48, March 20, 1996). User operations are scheduled to resume on May 22.

** WIGGLER INSTALLATION GOES SMOOTHLY **

The new wiggler was installed in sector 5 of the storage ring on April 19 without a hitch. The wiggler, the source for the new protein crystallography beamline now under construction, brings the in-the-ring insertion device total to five. The magnetic structure of the W16.0 wiggler is of a similar hybrid configuration as the U5 and U8 undulators and looks similar.

The spectrum and flux of radiation produced by a wiggler is dependent on the peak field strength of the magnets used in the device, and the 38-pole wiggler has a peak field strength of 2.1 tesla (by comparison, the ALS bend magnets operate with a field of 1 tesla). In addition, operating the ALS storage ring at its maximum energy enhances both the flux and brightness delivered by the wiggler. For operation at 1.9 GeV, for example, there is a brightness advantage of a factor of three at 1 angstrom (the wavelength conventionally used for macromolecular crystallography) as compared to operation at 1.5 GeV.

W16 Parameters

Maximum peak field (@1.4 cm magnetic gap)  2.1 T
Period length                              16 cm
Number of periods                          19
Number of poles                            38
Overall length                             3.5 m
Approximate mass                           18,000 kg
Operational energy range (@1.5 GeV)        4-13 keV

2. YOUNG PEOPLE DISCOVER SCIENCE IS FUN

Over 200 daughters, sons, and young friends of Lab employees enthusiastically took part in science discovery activities at the ALS as part of the national "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" on April 25. Activities included "blowing up" balloons with liquid nitrogen, discovering the effects of low vacuum environments, building the world's simplest electromagnet and motor, and the ever-popular electronics petting zoo where children are encouraged to take apart salvaged electronic equipment to see how it works. The kids agreed that science can be a lot of fun (maybe even as a career!), especially when they get to participate in the learning experience.

One goal of Daughters to Work day is to have children get a close-up view of what their parents and other adults do in the workplace to expand their knowledge of possible career choices. Being curious, we asked a few of the kids what they think their parents do and how they like science. Some of the responses follow (all names omitted to protect the innocent - both children and parents.)

He sits in his office and makes money.
She does something about contracts. It seems boring and you have to work 
  late. I'd rather be a teacher or a lawyer.
He is in charge of air conditioning and keeps people cool. I like 
  science because you get to take things apart. Last week I took apart a 
  telephone -- it was cool.
She is a manager but I'm not sure of what. I'm not into that kind of 
  stuff -- I prefer horses.
He gets paid not for what he does but for what he knows. He knows about 
  computers and how to fix them. 
She is an electrician. (What do they do?) Change light bulbs and help 
  people in trouble. Science is exciting because it is involved in the 
  world around us and creates new inventions.
He handles safety. I wouldn't want that much responsibility for other 
  people's lives. 
She has 3 computers and buys things. Science is my favorite subject 
  because you get to discover things and use neat equipment like 
  microscopes.
He types into the computer and makes equations. Science class is a lot 
  of fun because you get to do activities. Last week my class dissected 
  a 15 foot diamond-backed constrictor that weighed 120 pounds. 
He plays with electrons.

3. ALS PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE FOR ORDERING

The publications described below are all available upon request from the ALS User Office. You can request publications in several ways:

By Email: Send an email message that includes your name, complete mailing address, and numbers or titles of publications you are requesting to alsuser@lbl.gov.

By FAX: Print this article, circle the publications desired, and fax it with your name and complete mailing address to the ALS User Office at (510) 486-4773.

By Phone: Call the ALS User Office at (510) 486-7745.

  1. "ALS Activity Report for 1994." The Activity Report is designed to 
share the breadth, variety, and interest of the scientific program and 
ongoing R&D efforts in a way that is accessible to a broad audience, and 
to serve as a reference for the beamlines now in operation and under 
construction.

  2. "Advanced Light Source: Ultraviolet and Soft X-Ray Beams for 
Research." An informative brochure about synchrotron light as a tool for 
research.

  3. "The Advanced Light Source: America's Brightest Light for Science 
and Industry." A brochure highlighting some of the industrial 
applications of the ALS.

  4. "Advanced Light Source Users' Handbook." A guide to help you 
prepare for your visit to the ALS, to assist you in getting your 
experiments under way, and to act as a reference to the facilities and 
services available at the ALS.

  5. "Advanced Light Source Report," May 1995. A newsletter highlighting 
research results, news for users, beamline updates, and progress in 
operations.

  6. Information sheet on the Infrared Spectromicroscopy Beamline now 
under construction at the ALS.

  7. Information sheets on the Protein Crystallography Facility and the 
Structural Biology Support Facilities now under construction at the ALS.

  8. "The Art and Science of Magnet Design Vol. 1, A Festschrift in 
Honor of Klaus Halbach." Technical papers written especially for the 
Halbach Symposium on Magnet Design held on February 3, 1995 at LBNL.

  9. "The Art and Science of Magnet Design Vol. 2, Selected Notes of 
Klaus Halbach." A compilation of 57 notes written by Dr. Halbach 
selected from his collection of over 1650 such documents.

  10. "Inside the ALS." A poster for secondary grades and up, tracing 
the path of electrons and photons through the ALS and its beamlines and 
showing some kinds of scientific results produced here. Includes 
explanations of key concepts and the electromagnetic spectrum.

4. CALL FOR INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATOR PROPOSALS

The ALS has two cycles per year for soliciting proposals from scientists who wish to conduct research at the facility as independent investigators: April-September and October-March. The next submission deadline is June 1, 1996, for beamtime from October 1996 to March 1997.

To request a proposal form, contact:
Elizabeth Saucier, ALS User Administrator
Tel: (510) 486-6166
Fax: (510) 486-4960
Email: alsuser@lbl.gov

For beamline and PRT information, contact:
Fred Schlachter, ALS Scientific Outreach
Tel: (510) 486-4892
Fax: (510) 486-6499
Email: fred_schlachter@lbl.gov