LCLS Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC)

RSS Feed

Peering into 36-million-degree plasma with SLAC’s X-ray laser

In a first, researchers measure extremely small and fast changes that occur in plasma when it’s zapped with a laser. Their technique will have applications in astrophysics, medicine and fusion energy.

Emma McBride and Caterina Vernieri Receive 2018 Panofsky Fellowships at SLAC

Their work will deepen our understanding of matter in extreme conditions and fundamental particle physics.

Social Media: Highlights from Six Months of LCLS Experiments

Here's a glimpse of what we've been up to during the last experimental run – from June to November 2017 – at the Linac Coherent Light Source.

Scientists Make First Observations of How a Meteor-Like Shock Turns Silica Into Glass

Research with SLAC’s X-ray laser simulates what happens when a meteor hits Earth’s crust. The results suggest that scientists studying impact sites have been overestimating the sizes of the meteors that made them.

SLAC X-ray Laser Reveals How Extreme Shocks Deform a Metal’s Atomic Structure

A new way to observe this deformation as it happens can help study a wide range of phenomena, from meteor impacts to high-performance ceramics used in armor, as well as how to protect spacecraft from high-speed dust impacts.

Scientists Create ‘Diamond Rain’ That Forms in the Interior of Icy Giant Planets

SLAC’s X-ray laser and Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument allow researchers to examine the exotic precipitation in real time as it materializes in the laboratory.

Newly Upgraded Laser Allows Scientists to Peer Further Into the Extreme Universe at SLAC’s LCLS

Tripling the energy and refining the shape of optical laser pulses at LCLS’s Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument allows researchers to recreate higher-pressure conditions and explore unsolved questions relevant to fusion energy, plasma physics and materials science.