Diamond Light Source door opener

Copper door opener, made for staff at Diamond Light Source to use during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020, UK

This door opener was made at Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron, using copper plumbing pipe. A synchrotron is a circular particle accelerator. It creates a very bright, powerful light (containing x-rays, infrared, and ultraviolet light) that can be used for wide variety of research techniques.

Diamond Light Source continued to do important research throughout the pandemic. Like many other scientific institutions, they contributed to the enormous international effort to understand the virus. For example, scientists used these powerful x-rays to study the structure of variants of COVID-19 and to see how they differed. To stay safe doing this research, staff had to massively change the way they worked. Samples were prepared in a production line format and staff worked in shifts to maximise the amount of research they could do and minimise contact. Giving staff a door opener like this was also an easy way to reduce the number of high touch points.

Catching COVID-19 through contaminated surfaces was a particular concern at the beginning of the pandemic when we knew less about the virus. Scientists have since found that the COVID-19 spreads mostly through the air and droplets, particularly in poorly ventilated areas and to a much lesser extent through surfaces.