Synchrotron Radiation and Crystallography: the First 50 Years

Synchrotron radiation (SR) was first seen in the laboratory some 50 years ago. The properties of SR for X-ray crystallography became recognized and harnessed as synchrotrons with the requisite machine energies became available. SR source characteristics and operation have increasingly become tailored to SR applications as the field of SR research has matured from its beginnings in high-energy physics laboratories such as Frascati, DESY in Hamburg, SPEAR in Stanford and NINA in Daresbury. SR sources, beamline optics and detectors have considerably improved in specification and performance especially over the last two decades and methods have also evolved. A diverse range of applications of SR in crystallography, and cognate techniques, has been stimulated. Much scientific research in physics, chemistry, biochemistry, biology and medicine utilizes SR in diverse ways. World-wide there are now many dedicated facilities for SR and, for those emitting into the X-ray region of the electromagnetic spectrum, crystallography is a major user. Exciting new scientific opportunities now beckon.