Events archive

Particle accelerators are used every day in a wide range of scientific, medical and industrial applications. But did you know that the task of operating these machines is far from mundane? For example, for every experiment at SLAC’s X-ray laser...

stillframe public lecture super human operator

Giant planets can be up to 13 times the mass of Jupiter, while the least massive stars are about 80 times the mass of Jupiter. In between are objects called “brown dwarfs” – too massive to be called planets, but...

In the film Diamonds are Forever, James Bond’s archnemesis uses diamonds to build a space-based laser weapon that can blow up stuff on Earth. SLAC physicist and Bond villain in training Emma McBride, however, uses lasers to mimic the extreme...

An audience sits on a patio listening to a science talk and demonstration.

Presented by Sebastien Boutet. SLAC's X-ray laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source, launched a new generation of light sources when it opened 10 years ago last month, with beams 10 billion times brighter than any before.

stillframe from public lecture video Seeing is Exploding

Presented by Margaux Lopez.

A visit to SLAC in October 2018 inspired Nitin Sawhney to create an original audio composition for two short visualization movies on the origins of the universe.

Presented by Christopher Tassone. Throughout human history, improvements in the structure of metals have been essential to the sharpness of swords and the strength of steel girders. Now we’d like to produce turbine blades and propellers with optimal shapes and...

Join us for the inaugural SLAC on Tap event at The Patio in Palo Alto. SLAC scientist Alan Fry will chat about lasers not attached to sharks, ultrafast science and the quantum mechanics of your sunglasses. Have a drink, learn...

Superconductors are materials in which electric current flows freely, without resistance. They are used to create the powerful magnetic fields needed to operate MRI machines and levitate high-speed trains, and have even served as building blocks for quantum computers. While...

What is the nature of design and the meaning it holds in human life? What does it mean to design well? To design ethically? How can the shaping of technology reflect our values as human beings? This talk explores how...

Who we are

SLAC science explained

Vera C. Rubin Observatory LSST

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Shocking to the Core: Adventures in Earth Science

Super-Human Operator: Controlling Accelerators with Machine Learning

Brown Dwarfs: Failed Stars or Overachieving Planets?

Diamonds are (not) forever

Seeing is Exploding: Snapping Biological Images with X-ray Laser Blasts

What on earth do Maseratis, ice hockey and corgi puppies have to do with telescopes?

Music for the Cosmos: An Exploration of Art & Physics

3D Printing for Perfect Metal Parts

Lasers not attached to sharks, ultrafast science and the quantum mechanics of your sunglasses

Making Waves in a Superconductor

Artful Design: Technology in Search of the Sublime!