Stanford PULSE Institute

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March 18, 2020
News Feature
An advance in molecular moviemaking reveals the subtle, complex ways a simple molecule can shimmy and fly apart
Hitting molecules with two photons of light at once set off unexpected processes that were captured in detail with SLAC’s X-ray laser. Scientists say this new approach should work for bigger and more complicated molecules, too, allowing new insights into molecular behavior.
Closeup image of molecular movie frames
February 6, 2020
News Brief
Internal
How iron carbenes store energy from sunlight – and why they aren’t better at it
These inexpensive photosensitizers could make solar power and chemical manufacturing more efficient. Experiments at SLAC offer insight into how they work.
Illustration of carbene reaction pathways
December 2, 2019
Press Release
SLAC scientists invent a way to see attosecond electron motions with an X-ray laser
Called XLEAP, the new method will provide sharp views of electrons in chemical processes that take place in billionths of a billionth of a second and drive crucial aspects of life.
XLEAP
September 23, 2019
News Feature
In brief: Breaking up buckyballs is hard to do
A new study shows how soccer ball-shaped molecules burst more slowly than expected when blasted with an X-ray laser beam.
Buckyballs
June 14, 2019
News Feature
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.
Diagram of material switching between glassy and crystalline states
May 21, 2019
Press Release
In a first, researchers identify reddish coloring in an ancient fossil – a 3-million-year-old mouse
X-rays reveal an extinct mouse was dressed in brown to reddish fur on its back and sides and had a tiny white tummy.
mighty mouse false color
May 16, 2019
News Feature
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.
Underwater sound
May 1, 2019
News Feature
Todd Martinez and William Weis elected to National Academy of Sciences
Both are professors at Stanford and SLAC, where Martinez is an investigator with the Stanford PULSE Institute.
Stanford and SLAC professors Todd Martinez, left, and William Weis
April 15, 2019
Press Release
SLAC’s high-speed ‘electron camera’ films molecular movie in HD
First direct look at how atoms move when a ring-shaped molecule breaks apart could boost our understanding of fundamental processes of life.
Molecular Movie in HD Art
April 8, 2019
News Feature
David Reis named head of PULSE Institute for ultrafast science
He helped lay the groundwork for SLAC’s LCLS X-ray laser and for the institute, which was founded to explore the science LCLS would enable.
David Reis headshot

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