These characteristics make it possible, in principle, to conduct basic research on fundamental quantum mechanical properties of photons, provided that sufficiently long beam lines are available. Additionally, a sufficiently long beam line would permit research on the gravitational properties of photons. The construction and siting of the storage ring makes it possible to construct up to three one kilometer-long beam lines. These, however, would be very expensive to construct and would require highly specialized and sensitive ancillary experimental apparatus. For these reasons, according to facility management, their construction and operation will require international cost sharing.
Particle accelerators accommodate very few experimental groups at any one time.
On the other hand, these groups are very large, often consisting of several hundred scientists in addition to numerous technicians. The auxiliary experimental apparatus they require and for whose construction costs they themselves are primarily responsible is typically large, complex, and expensive. Contrastingly, third generation synchrotron radiation sources are designed to accommodate a large number of users at any one time, limited only by the number of operating beam lines. These user groups are typically small and conduct small-scale experiments that normally do not require them to bring in a great deal of additional apparatus. The times required for experiments at particle accelerators range from several months to well over a year.