Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL)

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May 20, 2022
News Feature
Superconductivity and charge density waves caught intertwining at the nanoscale
Scientists discover superconductivity and charge density waves are intrinsically interconnected at the nanoscopic level, a new understanding that could help lead to the next generation of electronics and computers.
A beam of light lands on a series of squiggly lines. Where the beam lands, the lines are straight.
April 29, 2022
News Feature
How a soil microbe could rev up artificial photosynthesis
Researchers discover that a spot of molecular glue and a timely twist help a bacterial enzyme convert carbon dioxide into carbon compounds 20 times faster than plant enzymes do during photosynthesis. The results stand to accelerate progress toward converting carbon dioxide into a variety of products.
An illustration shows the pocket in an enzyme called ECR where the carbon fixing reaction takes place.
April 28, 2022
News Feature
What drives rechargeable battery decay? Depends on how many times you've charged it
How quickly a battery electrode decays depends on properties of individual particles in the battery – at first. Later on, the network of particles matters more.
A group of particles, some highlighted in reds and oranges to show which have begun to break apart.
April 8, 2022
News Feature
San Jose State students study nanodiamonds at SLAC’s synchrotron
A physical chemist and a diverse group of his students are working on applications with nanoscopic diamonds.
Three side-by-side portraits.
March 7, 2022
News Feature
Q&A: From particle beams to cancer treatment – fundamental research that affects everyday life
SLAC’s Matt Garrett and Susan Simpkins talk about tech transfer that brings innovations from the national lab to the people, including advances for medical devices and self-driving vehicles.
Tech Transfer
February 14, 2022
News Feature
A new way to shape a material’s atomic structure with ultrafast laser light
X-ray laser experiments show that intense light distorts the structure of a thermoelectric material in a unique way, opening a new avenue for controlling the properties of materials.
Illustration shows two ball-and-stick molecules in pink and red separated by a blurred streak representing how the first structure is slightly deformed into the second.
February 9, 2022
News Feature
Study raises new possibilities for triggering room-temperature superconductivity with light
Scientists discover that triggering superconductivity with a flash of light involves the same fundamental physics that are at work in the more stable states needed for devices, opening a new path toward producing room-temperature superconductivity.
January 26, 2022
News Feature
SLAC and Stanford researchers reveal the fourth signature of the superconducting transition in cuprates
The results cap 15 years of detective work aimed at understanding how these materials transition into a superconducting state where they can conduct electricity with no loss.
Conceptual illlustration showing a beam of light entering from the right and hitting a material, ejecting a sphere representing an electron
January 19, 2022
News Feature
Analysis of the rock record rules out atmospheric oxygen before the Great Oxygenation Event
New research questions ‘whiff of oxygen’ in Earth’s early history.
Blue and purple image showing cracks where arsenic and copper entered a shale sample.
December 16, 2021
News Brief
Room-temperature crystallography aids new study of photosynthetic bacteria
Recently developed methods now in use at SLAC’s X-ray synchrotron helped a team of chemists better understand how certain bacteria turn light into chemical energy.
A diagram of a protein molecule with white spirals and multicolored webs indicating key parts of the molecule.

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