This weekend I had the chance to go down the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories which houses the Advanced Light Source.
The ALS is a source of synchrotron radiation with a huge storage ring and then dozens of beamlines coming off to do experiments on. We double ran the 5.0.1 and 5.0.2 and I learned to collect x-ray data. Basically we have protein crystals that sit in looped pins in liquid nitrogen to keep 'em cold. Then an amazing robot system pulls the crystals out of the liquid and mounts them into the x-ray beam. Then, you have to push a button inside the hutch, walk outside the hutch, close the door, push another button, walk down and push another button, and then walk around the computer and push another button. All of these controls are because 1 nanosecond of x-ray beam exposure would equal your yearly dose of radiations. Here's the source. It's straight up science fictiony!
In the words of the technician "you can't commit suicide but you can be murdered so be nice to everyone here." Here's the hutch looking towards the storage ring.
My great-grandfather actually got his PhD here in Berkeley and wanted to be buried in the hills above Berkeley. They are beautiful, here are some more pictures.
But I'll be honest, I don't want to be buried in the hills above where I got my PhD. That's Capitol Hill and the most common clothing are six-inch stilettos and feather boas. On both men and women. So, that's out, I'm just saying.
The ALS is a source of synchrotron radiation with a huge storage ring and then dozens of beamlines coming off to do experiments on. We double ran the 5.0.1 and 5.0.2 and I learned to collect x-ray data. Basically we have protein crystals that sit in looped pins in liquid nitrogen to keep 'em cold. Then an amazing robot system pulls the crystals out of the liquid and mounts them into the x-ray beam. Then, you have to push a button inside the hutch, walk outside the hutch, close the door, push another button, walk down and push another button, and then walk around the computer and push another button. All of these controls are because 1 nanosecond of x-ray beam exposure would equal your yearly dose of radiations. Here's the source. It's straight up science fictiony! 
In the words of the technician "you can't commit suicide but you can be murdered so be nice to everyone here." Here's the hutch looking towards the storage ring. 
My great-grandfather actually got his PhD here in Berkeley and wanted to be buried in the hills above Berkeley. They are beautiful, here are some more pictures. 
But I'll be honest, I don't want to be buried in the hills above where I got my PhD. That's Capitol Hill and the most common clothing are six-inch stilettos and feather boas. On both men and women. So, that's out, I'm just saying.
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