Advanced Photon Source

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Advanced Photon Source

particle accelerator

Also known as: APS

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Last updated

July 16, 2026

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The Advanced Photon Source (APS) is a synchrotron particle accelerator located at Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois. It operates at 7 gigaelectron volts and generates intense beams of high-energy X-ray synchrotron radiation. This radiation is used by scientists for advanced X-ray imaging and diffraction studies, enabling them to analyze complex biological structures like ribosomes and enzyme-inhibitor complexes. Synchrotron radiation is produced when charged particles move at near light speeds and their paths are altered, such as by a magnetic field.12

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Argonne National Laboratory
Four of these facilities—the Advanced Photon Source (APS), the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS), the Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System (ATLAS), and the High-Voltage Electron Microscope- (HVEM-) Tandem Facility—have been designated official U.S. Department of Energy National User Facilities.
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Four of these facilities—the Advanced Photon Source (APS), the Intense Pulsed Neutron Source (IPNS), the Argonne Tandem Linear Accelerator System (ATLAS), and the High-Voltage Electron Microscope- (HVEM-) Tandem Facility—have been designated official U.S. Department of Energy National User Facilities.
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synchrotron
…electron synchrotrons, such as the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, have been constructed to optimize the production of X-ray synchrotron radiation for structural studies of biological macromolecules and other complex materials.
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…electron synchrotrons, such as the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois, have been constructed to optimize the production of X-ray synchrotron radiation for structural studies of biological macromolecules and other complex materials.
Read More