LCLS Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC)
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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.
Scientists Discover How Dense, Extraterrestrial Ice can Form in Just Billionths of a Second
A flash of green laser followed by pulses of X-rays, and mere nanoseconds later an extraterrestrial form of ice has formed.
What Can You Study In Femtoseconds? High Energy Density Science
Read about how SLAC professor Siegfried Glenzer creates extreme conditions like those in the cores of planets and studies nuclear fusion.
Studying Nanosecond Molecular Transformations
Focused X-rays reveal how rocks under high pressure transform into different materials.
SLAC Researchers Recreate the Extreme Universe in the Lab
Computer simulations and lab experiments help researchers understand the violent universe and could potentially lead to new technologies that benefit humankind.
SLAC's Siegfried Glenzer Selected to Receive E.O. Lawrence Award
SLAC's Siegfried Glenzer has been selected to receive an Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award, presented by the U.S. Secretary of Energy to honor scientists across a range of fields.
LCLS Gets New Equipment, Upgrades During Downtime
Crews will install a powerful new instrument, start assembling a new "self-seeding" system that will focus soft X-ray laser pulses into a bright, narrow band of colors, and upgrade several laser systems during two months of routine downtime at SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser.
Rapid Beam-switching Allows SLAC X-ray Laser to Multitask
A high-energy SLAC laser that creates shock waves and superhot plasmas needs to cool for about 10 minutes between shots. In the meantime, the rapid-fire pulses produced by SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser, which probes the extreme states of matter produced by this initial laser shot, are unused.
Sharper Images for Extreme LCLS Experiments
An imaging technique conceived 50 years ago has been successfully demonstrated at SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source, where it is expected to improve results in a range of experiments, including studies of extreme states of matter formed by shock waves.
