China is planning to develop a high-performance synchrotron light source before 2020. The facility, named Beijing Light Source, will be the brightest one in the world, with the highest degree of coherence.

Synchrotron light sources are utilized to measure the atomic structure of various substances through X-ray. China has already developed a third-generation synchrotron light source, called Shanghai Light Source. It is currently the most advanced facility of its kind developed by the country.

According to Dong Yuhui, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, adequate brightness is crucial for the observation of material composition. Display resolution is directly related to brightness in scientific studies, Dong added. The world currently has more than 50 such facilities to support research and innovation. For its part, Shanghai Light Source has revealed the occurrence and development mechanisms of vivo tumors and cerebrovascular diseases.

Dong said Beijing Light Source will focus on national security development such as the production of aerospace materials. In addition, its high resolution will enable scientists to study complicated and extremely fine structures.

The Beijing Light Source project, which will take up to six years, is expected to begin in November 2018, with an estimated cost of 4.8 billion RMB ($700 million).