Images Dated 26th August 2003

Electric arcs over the Z-1 accelerator

Z-1 machine. Electric arcs fly over the Z-1accel- erator, the world's most powerfullaboratory X-ray source, which is used in fusion &nuclear weapons research. For a billionth of asecond, the Z-1 fires electrical energy equivalentto 60 times the output of the world's powerstations at a hohlraum target made of smallcages of metal wires that are the width of a humanhair. Electricity flowing in these wires creates amassive magnetic field. The wires vaporise &accelerate towards a central point. The magneticfield collapses, creating tem- peratures of 1.7million degrees celsius & braking chargedparticles so that they produce X-rays

© Randy Montoya/Sandia National Laboratories/Science Photo Library

Vine weevil larva, SEM

Black vine weevil larva (Otiorhynchus sulcatus), coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM). This insect is a pest that attacks a wide range of plants, including the yew, rhododendron, azalea, laurel, juniper, grape, holly, strawberry and many other woody and herbaceous plants. The larva feeds on the roots with its mouthparts, seen on the head (orange), causing severe damage, more so than the adults, which feed on leaves. The larva hatches in the autumn, burrowing into the soil in winter. It is about one centimetre long when mature, emerging as the adult form in spring. Magnification: x12 when printed 10cm high

© POWER AND SYRED/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

Venus flytrap leaves, SEM

Venus flytrap leaves. Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of spiny leaf traps from a Venus flytrap plant (Dionaea muscipula). A winged insect is trapped in the leaf in the background. The leaf spines (also seen on the edge of the foreground leaf) interlock on the closed trap, preventing the insect from escaping. The Venus flytrap plant is carnivorous, trapping insects in its hinged and two-lobed leaf traps. Touch-sensitive hairs on the leaf's inner surface are triggered when an insect lands in the trap, causing the leaf to close. The insect is digested by enzymes, providing the plant with nutrients not found in the swamps where it grows. Magnification: x12 when printed 10cm high

© POWER AND SYRED/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY