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Ultrafast science RSS feed

SLAC is the world’s leading center for developing “ultrafast” X-ray, laser and electron beams that allow us to see atoms and molecules moving in just millionths of a billionth of a second. We can even create stop-action movies of these tiny events.

DOE explains...Ultrafast science

This illustration shows how the first experiment at SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser stripped away electrons from neon atoms. (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

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New research could offer insights into the formation of planets like Earth and inform the design of more resilient materials.

Iron impact header
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A proposed device could expand the reach of X-ray lasers, opening new experimental avenues in biology, chemistry, materials science and physics.

x-ray laser oscillator
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The prestigious awards provide at least $2.5 million over five years in support of their work in understanding photochemical reactions and improving accelerator beams.

SLAC staff scientists Amy Cordones-Hahn and Brendan O'Shea
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It could offer insights into the evolution of planetary systems and guide scientists hoping to harness nuclear fusion as a new source of energy.

Scattered photons
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Revealing both sides of the story in a single experiment has been a grand scientific challenge.

nuclear and electronic
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Understanding nature’s process could inform the next generation of artificial photosynthetic systems that produce clean and renewable energy from sunlight and water.

How electrons flow in the oxygen-evolving complex of Photosystem II.
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Learning how liquid silicates behave at these extreme temperatures and pressures has been a longstanding challenge in the geosciences.

atomic arrangements of liquid silicates at the extreme conditions found in the core-mantle boundary.
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Light-driven reactions are at the heart of human vision, photosynthesis and solar power generation. Seeing the very first step opens the door to observing...

Illustration showing electron orbitals ballooning in response to light
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New research shows that when a bunch of electrons zooms through the middle of a ring-shaped laser beam, the bunch can wind up with...

donut laser
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Researchers investigate how much damage spreads through molecules struck by a pulse from LCLS.

Two color mode
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This new technology could enable future insights into chemical and biological processes that occur in solution, such as vision, catalysis and photosynthesis.

UED liquid
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An LCLS imaging technique reveals how a mosquito-borne bacterium deploys a toxin to kill mosquito larvae. Scientists hope to harness it to fight disease.

A photograph of mosquito larvae.