Past Event · Public Lecture

Faster! Catching up to electrons on the move

Presented by Taran Driver

Register here to watch in person in the Kavli Auditorium, or watch the lecture live on our YouTube channel. 

Electrons are tiny particles that hold together the atoms in molecules. When sunlight interacts with a molecule, it first transfers its energy to the electrons.  Then, as the electrons move, the molecule changes form, reshaping itself or even breaking apart.  We do not fully understand how electrons affect the molecules to which they belong because it is very hard to catch them in action.  Electrons move incredibly quickly, and they behave according to the peculiar laws of quantum mechanics.  But now, we can follow the motion of electrons using SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source, an accelerator that can make pulses of X-rays that are shorter than one millionth of a billionth of a second.  In this lecture, I will explain how this one-of-a-kind tool allows us to watch speedy electrons as they move.

About Taran Driver

A portrait of Taran Driver.
Taran Driver (Jacqueline Ramseyer Orrell/SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)

Taran Driver is an Associate Staff Scientist at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and the Stanford PULSE Institute. He grew up in the United Kingdom, where he obtained his B.Sc. in physics and philosophy from the University of Nottingham in 2014, and his Ph.D. in biomolecular structure analysis from Imperial College London in 2019. He came to SLAC in 2019 as a postdoctoral scholar at the Stanford PULSE Institute. His research at SLAC focuses on using the unique ultrashort X-ray pulses made by the LCLS to understand how electrons move within molecules. In his spare time, he enjoys cycling and playing soccer in the California sunshine.

Past Event · Public Lecture

Faster! Catching up to electrons on the move

Presented by Taran Driver

Public Lectures
electron illustration
Video
Date
Thursday, November 30, 2023
7:00–8:00 p.m. PST