SLAC’s high-speed ‘electron camera’ shows for the first time the coexistence of solid and liquid in laser-heated gold, providing new clues for designing materials that can withstand extreme conditions.

The goal: develop plasma technologies that could shrink future accelerators up to 1,000 times, potentially paving the way for next-generation particle colliders and powerful light sources.

A team including SLAC researchers has measured the intricate interactions between atomic nuclei and electrons that are key to understanding intriguing materials properties, such as high-temperature superconductivity.

The new technology could allow next-generation instruments to explore the atomic world in ever more detail.

The new technique will allow researchers to observe ultrafast chemical processes previously undetectable at the atomic scale.

Combining X-ray and electron data from two cutting-edge SLAC instruments, researchers make the first observation of the rapid atomic response of iron-platinum nanoparticles to light. The results could help develop ways to manipulate and control future magnetic data storage devices.