Nano-Dali

ISIS is a particle physics laboratory in Oxfordshire, U.K that houses a synchrotron — or particle accelerator — which creates beams of neutrons and muons traveling at 84 percent of light speed. Scientists use the beams to explore physics, chemistry, biology and other fields on a subatomic level. The synchrotron's neutron beam has a special ability to view the atomic world in a detailed, non-destructive way. This image illustrates the science that can be done at ISIS.

Acetylcholine is an important neurotransmitter whose crystal structure has been studied to great precision on the single crystal diffractometer at ISIS. We can even see the vibration of individual atoms in the molecule via their thermal ellipsoids. In the body, acetylcholine acts in an aqueous environment, and its influence upon the structure of water surrounding it has also been studied in detail on the SANDALS instrument.

--LiveScience Staff

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Credit: ISIS Facility