November,3rd 2014: The visit to the Synchrotron Soleil in Saclay/Paris

A stormy Monday afternoon in November became an unforgettable experience for many of us, as we had a chance to visit the 3rd generation synchrotron Soleil, located in Saclay, France. After an initial lecture detailing the physics of producing synchrotron radiation using accelerated charged particles, we visited the control room and some of the experimental beamlines, and had the opportunity to play with a teltron tube – an experiment designed to observe the trajectory of a beam of electrons under the influence of electric and magnetic fields. Even the typical British weather that day didn’t dampen our spirits.