appeared in a bad movie—The Hulk, and synchrotron radiation even showed up as
special advice in a good TV series—Breaking Bad.
This text has evolved out of a course given in the Applied Science Department at
UC Davis. I have tried to achieve a balance between the synchrotron radiation
production side and the spectroscopy that is enabled with these photons. For those
who care about the production, transport, and detection of synchrotron radiation,
start at the beginning. For those who only care about the spectroscopic applications,
you can dive in half way at Chap. 6.
Some comments about style (and substance). In many cases, the derivation of
equations from first principles to describe synchrotron radiation or its applications is
complex and lengthy. Without apology, I usually present the equations and reference
other sources where such derivations have already been done. For the equations
themselves, I have adopted the approach used in the ALS Manual, where for
practical equations the appropriate units are listed in brackets []. However, the
powers of those units are considered obvious and are not listed in the brackets. In
general, I have tried as much as possible to refrain from links to websites because it
would just be a matter of time before all of the links would be obsolete. But, of
course, there are a few exceptions. Another moving target has been facility specifications. Several examples of storage ring properties have changed because of
upgrades, but rewriting the text to keep up with changes would be a fool’s errand.
I hope you enjoy this first edition, and I hope that it occasionally stimulates what
Emerson called “creative reading.”
“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is
braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book we read becomes
luminous with manifold allusion.”
Los Altos, CA
Stephen P. Cramer
October, 2020
viii
Preface
special advice in a good TV series—Breaking Bad.
This text has evolved out of a course given in the Applied Science Department at
UC Davis. I have tried to achieve a balance between the synchrotron radiation
production side and the spectroscopy that is enabled with these photons. For those
who care about the production, transport, and detection of synchrotron radiation,
start at the beginning. For those who only care about the spectroscopic applications,
you can dive in half way at Chap. 6.
Some comments about style (and substance). In many cases, the derivation of
equations from first principles to describe synchrotron radiation or its applications is
complex and lengthy. Without apology, I usually present the equations and reference
other sources where such derivations have already been done. For the equations
themselves, I have adopted the approach used in the ALS Manual, where for
practical equations the appropriate units are listed in brackets []. However, the
powers of those units are considered obvious and are not listed in the brackets. In
general, I have tried as much as possible to refrain from links to websites because it
would just be a matter of time before all of the links would be obsolete. But, of
course, there are a few exceptions. Another moving target has been facility specifications. Several examples of storage ring properties have changed because of
upgrades, but rewriting the text to keep up with changes would be a fool’s errand.
I hope you enjoy this first edition, and I hope that it occasionally stimulates what
Emerson called “creative reading.”
“There is then creative reading as well as creative writing. When the mind is
braced by labor and invention, the page of whatever book we read becomes
luminous with manifold allusion.”
Los Altos, CA
Stephen P. Cramer
October, 2020
viii
Preface