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X-ray studies at SLAC facilities help scientists understand the fundamental workings of nature by probing matter in atomic detail.

atoms forming a tentative bond

News Feature

Using an X-ray laser, researchers watched atoms rotate on the surface of a material that was demagnetized in millionths of a billionth of a...

Iron sample blasted with laser pulses to demagnetize it, then X-rayed.
News Feature

Detailed observations of iridium atoms at work could help make catalysts that drive chemical reactions smaller, cheaper and more efficient.

Depiction of four techniques used to study a single-atom catalyst
News Feature

New research will help in the quest to design low-cost drugs that can tackle postpartum bleeding and other conditions without severe side effects.

Misoprostol and EP3 receptor
Press Release

In a major step forward, SLAC’s X-ray laser captures all four stable states of the process that produces the oxygen we breathe, as well...

Atomic movie
News Feature

Revealed for the first time by a new X-ray laser technique, their surprisingly unruly response has profound implications for designing and controlling materials.

Illustration of laser light setting off vibrations in material
News Feature

Two studies led by SLAC and Stanford capture electron 'sound waves' and identify a positive feedback loop that may boost superconducting temperatures.

Illustration of study that reveals how coordinated motions of atoms boost superconductivity
News Feature

An advisory committee is evaluating proposals for first experiments at SLAC’s future FACET-II accelerator facility.

FACET-II First Electrons
News Feature

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...

LCLS Plasma Expansion
News Feature

The annual conference for scientists who conduct research at SLAC’s light sources engaged about 470 researchers in talks, workshops and discussions.

2018 Users Conference
News Feature

The early-career award honors a promising leader in X-ray free-electron laser research.

SLAC's Tais Gorkhover
News Feature

In more than 185 experimental runs at SLAC’s synchrotron, he has pushed the envelope of both techniques and science.

Photo: Graham George
News Feature

Using SLAC’s X-ray synchrotron SSRL, Cao improves fundamental knowledge about how a new lithium-ion battery material works, which will help enable safer, longer-lasting devices.

Chuntian Cao