Staff at Diamond Light Source near Didcot are inviting the public to let the super microscope inspire them to write short stories.

The competition, entitled Light Reading, is inviting fiction writers to compose a story of up to 3,000 words that is in some way inspired by the £260m facility.

In 2007, the Queen officially opened the £260m Diamond Light Source, a 562-metre particle accelerator at Harwell.

The silver doughnut-shaped building houses a synchotron, a scientific instrument more than half a kilometre in circumference.

The powerful machine generates bright light and is used by thousands of scientists every year to study all kinds of materials.

It is used to develop new drugs to combat diseases such as cancer and malaria, and preserve historical artefacts, including items from Tudor warship the Mary Rose.

Diamond’s chief executive Gerd Materlik said: “The first experiments took place here at Diamond in 2007 so we are still a relatively new science facility.

“Light Reading is a great way for us to highlight what Diamond is all about to a more general audience and we hope to get entries from both inside and outside the science community.”

The website light-reading.org has been set up to give story writers information.

The top three writers will win a cash prize, with the first prize £500, second prize £250, and third prize £125.

The deadline for entries is Wednesday, November 30.