PETRA III teamDESY's new synchrotron radiation source PETRA III generated the first X-ray light for research on the weekend of 18–19 July. The electron storage ring, 2.3 km in circumference, went through a two-year upgrade costing €225 million, which converted into the world's most brilliant storage ring X-ray source. Following test runs of individual instruments, PETRA III will start regular user operation in 2010.

　　As the most powerful light source of its kind, PETRA III will offer excellent research possibilities, in particular to researchers who investigate ever smaller samples with ever finer details, or those who require tightly focused and very short-wavelength X-rays for their experiments. PETRA III first stored its first positron beam in April (CERN Courier June 2009 p8). Following this milestone, the undulators were put in place to force the beam to oscillate and emit the high brilliance synchrotron radiation.

　　First X-ray beamPETRA was originally built as an electron–positron collider for particle physics and more recently was used as a pre-accelerator for the electron/positron–proton collider, HERA, which closed down in June 2007. In less than two years PETRA has been completely refurbished and modernized, the remodelling funded mainly by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the City of Hamburg and the Helmholtz Association. A 300 m long experimental hall was built over the PETRA storage ring, to house 14 synchrotron beamlines and up to 30 experimental stations (CERN Courier September 2008 p19). To ensure that the samples under study are not affected by vibrations, the experiments will be installed on the largest monolithic concrete slab in the world.