Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS)
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In brief: After blasting a molecule with light, researchers watch its structure vibrate and change in real time
The technique can be used to study molecular phenomena and the forming and breaking of chemical bonds.
SLAC makes ‘electron camera,’ a world-class tool for ultrafast science, available to scientists worldwide
Combined with the lab’s LCLS X-ray laser, it’ll provide unprecedented atomic views of some of nature’s speediest processes.
Symmetry: The future of particle accelerators may be autonomous
Particle accelerators are some of the most complicated machines in science. Scientists are working on ways to run them with a diminishing amount of direction from humans.
A day in the life of an accelerator designer
Physicist Tor Raubenheimer explores the world by climbing rocks and designing particle accelerators.
A quick liquid flip helps explain how morphing materials store information
Experiments at SLAC’s X-ray laser reveal in atomic detail how two distinct liquid phases in these materials enable fast switching between glassy and crystalline states that represent 0s and 1s in memory devices.
SLAC fires up electron gun for LCLS-II X-ray laser upgrade
Its electron beams will drive the generation of up to a million ultrabright X-ray flashes per second.
In brief: Radiation damage lowers melting point of potential fusion reactor material
SLAC’s ‘electron camera’ films rapidly melting tungsten and reveals atomic-level material behavior that could impact the design of future reactors.
In brief: Record-shattering underwater sound
Researchers produced an underwater sound with an intensity that eclipses that of a rocket launch while investigating what happens when they blast tiny jets of water with X-ray laser pulses.
Researchers create the first maps of two melatonin receptors essential for sleep
A better understanding of how these receptors work could enable scientists to design better therapeutics for sleep disorders, cancer and Type 2 diabetes.
In brief: Watching molecules split in real time
A new method could be used to look at chemical reactions that other techniques can’t catch, for instance in catalysis, photovoltaics, peptide and combustion research.
