Matter in Extreme Conditions

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April 10, 2019
News Feature
10 ways SLAC’s X-ray laser has transformed science
In the decade since LCLS produced its first light, it has pushed boundaries in countless areas of discovery.
Undulator Hall
March 13, 2019
News Feature
A new lens on materials under extreme conditions allows researchers to watch shock waves travel through silicon
Researchers used a unique approach to learn more about what happens to silicon under intense pressure.
silicon waves
December 13, 2018
Press Release
Tangled magnetic fields power cosmic particle accelerators
SLAC scientists find a new way to explain how a black hole’s plasma jets boost particles to the highest energies observed in the universe. The results could also prove useful for fusion and accelerator research on Earth.
Cosmic particle accelerators
October 30, 2018
News Feature
SLAC joins new LaserNetUS network to boost high-intensity laser research
The initiative will give scientists more access to powerful lasers at universities and labs.
MEC LaserNet
October 2, 2018
News Feature
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.
LCLS Plasma Expansion
July 26, 2018
News Feature
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.
Panofsky Fellows 2018
June 28, 2018
Press Release
Atomic Movie of Melting Gold Could Help Design Materials for Future Fusion Reactors
SLAC’s high-speed ‘electron camera’ shows for the first time the coexistence of solid and liquid in laser-heated gold, providing new clues for designing materials that can withstand extreme conditions.
UED Gold Melting
May 15, 2018
News Feature
Scientists Turn X-ray Laser Into World’s Fastest Water Heater
Experiments at SLAC heated water from room temperature to 100,000 degrees Celsius in less than a millionth of a millionth of a second, producing an exotic state of water that could shed light on Earth’s most important liquid.
Illustration of water molecules hit by X-ray laser
November 16, 2017
News Feature
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.
November 13, 2017
News Feature
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.
Image depicting an experiment at LCLS that shocks a tantalum sample

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