X-ray Spectroscopy
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Scientists Use X-rays to Look at How DNA Protects Itself from UV Light
DNA’s molecular building blocks absorb ultraviolet light so strongly that sunlight should deactivate them – yet it doesn’t. A new SLAC study reveals details of a “relaxation response” that protects these molecules and the genetic information they encode.
Scientists Find Stronger 3-D Material that Behaves Like Graphene
Researchers from Oxford, SIMES and Berkeley Lab say cadmium arsenide could yield practical devices with the same extraordinary electronic properties as 2-D graphene.
Five Years of Illumination: SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source
Five years ago, the brightest source of X-rays on the planet lit up at SLAC. The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray laser's scientific and technical progress since its momentous "first light" have been no less luminous, say those who have played a role in its success.
LAMP: A New Tool Turns On at SLAC's X-ray Laser
A 2-ton instrument the size of a compact car, now available at SLAC's X-ray laser, makes it possible to capture more detailed images of atoms, molecules, nanoscale features of solids, and individual particles such as viruses and airborne soot.
SLAC Researchers Team Up on Potential Fuel Cell Advance
A discovery by SLAC researchers into how chemical reactions take place on a platinum catalyst could lead to more efficient, less costly fuel cells.
User Spotlight: Giving Smart Materials an IQ Test at SSRL
Anna Llordes from Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry uses SSRL's Beam Line 11-3 for clues about where the smart films her group creates for windows get their high energy IQ.
LCLS Powers Chain Reaction of Light: A New Tool for X-ray Studies
Researchers have found a new way to probe molecules and atoms with an X-ray laser, setting off cascading bursts of light that reveal precise details of what is going on inside, which could allow scientists to see details of chemical reactions in a way not possible before.
New Technique Traces Ejected Electrons Back to Atomic Shells
In a detailed study of how intense light strips electrons from atoms, researchers used an X-ray laser, SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS), to measure and sort the ejected electrons and discover how this process takes place.
X-ray Laser Sees Photosynthesis in Action
Menlo Park, Calif. — Opening a new window on the way plants generate the oxygen we breathe, researchers used an X-ray laser at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory to simultaneously look at the structure and chemical behavior of a natural catalyst involved in photosynthesis for the first time.
The Man at the End of the X-ray Laser
Daniel DePonte, a pioneer in finding ways to serve up a steady and precise supply of crystals, viruses and other precious samples for laser experiments, is the newly hired sample-delivery group leader for SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser.
