DESY (particle accelerator)

Construction of the synchrotron started in 1960. With a circumference of 300 m, it was the world's largest facility of its kind and accelerated electrons to 7.4 GeV. The first electrons circulated in acceleration on 25 February 1964, and research activities into elementary particles at the DESY synchrotron started in May 1964. In the experiments carried out at DESY, the electron beams were directed at fixed targets.

Research at the DESY particle accelerator

DESY first attracted international attention in 1966 with its confirmation of the theory of quantum electrodynamics. A world-first, production of proton–antiproton pairs using high-energy radiation, was also achieved at the DESY accelerator in 1966. Additionally, protons were very accurately scanned, showing that they do not have a solid nucleus. In the following decade, DESY established itself as a skills centre for developing and operating particle accelerator facilities.

Before 1964 no continuous soft-x-ray radiation sources existed. In that year, research began using the synchrotron radiation that occurs as a side effect of electron acceleration in the DESY ring. Synchrotron radiation was first used for absorption spectroscopy at the synchrotron in 1967. The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) made use of this new technology's potential and 1972 established a permanent branch at DESY with the aim of analyzing the structure of biological molecules through synchrotron radiation.