Diamond is a third generation synchrotron; a huge scientific machine, half a kilometre in circumference, designed to produce very intense beams of X-rays, infrared and ultraviolet light. Synchrotron light can be 10 billion times brighter than the sun. Particles called electrons are generated in an electron gun, very like the cathode ray tubes found in old television sets. They are then fired out into the machine, where they are accelerated up to very high speeds through a series of three particle accelerators. These are called the linear accelerator, or linac, the booster synchrotron and the large storage ring.

Diamond uses special arrays of magnets called insertion devices. These cause the electrons to wiggle around, which produces even more intense light. When the path of the electron beam is bent by Diamond’s powerful magnets, the electrons lose energy in the form of light. This light can then be channelled out of the storage ring and into the experimental stations, called beamlines.

Diamond's beamline contains three different sections; the optics hutch, where the light is filtered and focused; the experimental hutch, where the sample sits and the experiment is carried out; and the control cabin, where the scientists control the experiment. The beams of light are so strong that, in the case of Diamond’s X-ray beamlines, it is not safe to be in the same room whilst they are being fired at the sample.