page_title: Synchrotron Radiation Center
section_title: Aladdin, the early years: 1976–1986
hierarchical_section_title: Synchrotron Radiation Center / History / Aladdin, the early years: 1976–1986
caption_attribution_description: English: One of the first beamline on the Aladdin synchrotron, seen in the late 1980s
context_page_description: The Synchrotron Radiation Center, located in Stoughton, Wisconsin and operated by the University of Wisconsin–Madison, was a national synchrotron light source research facility, operating the Aladdin storage ring. From 1968 to 1987 SRC was the home of Tantalus, the first storage ring dedicated to the production of synchrotron radiation.
context_section_description: In 1976 SRC submitted a proposal to the NSF for a 750 MeV storage ring as an intense source of VUV and soft x-ray radiation to an energy greater than one keV. This proposed ring was named Aladdin. Funding for the new ring was obtained from the NSF, the State of Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). The final design was a four straight section 1 GeV ring, of 89 m circumference, and construction of some components started in 1978. A new 32,000 sq ft building to house the facility started construction in April 1979. The initial target date for first stored beam was October 1980.
  The construction phase of Aladdin ended in 1981, but by late 1984 SRC had been unable to complete the commissioning of the facility, with a maximum stored current of 2.5 mA, too little to provide useful light intensities. Accelerator experts reviewing the project recommended the addition of a booster synchrotron at a cost of $25 million. In May 1985, after a review by L. Edward Temple of the Department of Energy, which recommended still another study period while difficulties were ironed out, NSF director Eric Bloch decided not only against the upgrade, but also against continued funding for Aladdin operations. SRC was kept running with existing NSF funding for Tantalus and funds from WARF. The University of Wisconsin made it clear it would only continue funding Aladdin until June 1986, a situation characterized on campus as the Perils of Pauline. Concurrent with these events, the technical issue limiting the machine performance had been solved, and three months after the decision to withdraw NSF funding, currents of 40 mA had been achieved. By July 1986 this had risen to over 150mA, and NSF funding was restored.
caption: One of the first beamlines on the Aladdin synchrotron, late 1980s
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