• Question: what is your worst thing to do with light?

    Asked by Jimmy D to Hugh, Dave on 8 Mar 2015.
    • Photo: Hugh Harvey

      Hugh Harvey answered on 8 Mar 2015:

      In my job we have to look at the X-ray pictures we take in a darkened room, so we can see all the tiny details. A dark room helps us focus on the pictures, with no distractions.

      So the worst thing we can do is turn the lights on while working!

    • Photo: Dave Bond

      Dave Bond answered on 9 Mar 2015:

      Interesting question…

      At Diamond we can generate light 100 billion times brighter than the sun using our accelerators and magnets. So this is enough to cause damage to people and equipment if you are not carefull.
      Light can also be used to describe more than just the light you see. So at Diamond there is also the ability to generate infra red, visable light, right up to x rays.
      X rays can be the most damaging as they are harder than other ‘light’ to contain. This is why Diamond has radiation monitors and lots of lead and concrete to keep the x rays away from us.
      As everything is quite safe, the worst thing for me to do with light is look into the end of a data fibre optic. Not massively unsafe but looking into a laser is vener a good idea.

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