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LCLS Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) RSS feed

The LCLS beam with its high peak brightness, short pulse duration, and tunable X-ray photon energy provides revolutionary capabilities to study the transient behavior of matter in extreme conditions. The particular strength of the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) instrument is to combine the unique LCLS beam with high power optical laser beams, and a suite of dedicated diagnostics tailored for this field of science.

Scientists prepare for an experiment in the Matter in Extreme Conditions (MEC) chamber.

News Feature

New research has implications for understanding Earth's evolution, interpreting unusual seismic signals and the study of exoplanets.

Illustration of earth with laser
Illustration

Deep inside rocky planets like Earth, the behavior of iron can greatly affect the properties of molten rock materials: properties that influenced how Earth...

Illustration of earth with laser
Press Release

With up to a million X-ray flashes per second, 8,000 times more than its predecessor, it transforms the ability of scientists to explore atomic-scale...

LCLS-II first light
Illustration

Illustration of how a single crystal sample of silicon deforms during shock compression on nanosecond timescales.

MEC silicon
News Feature

They saw how the material finds a path to contorting and flexing to avoid being irreversibly crushed.

MEC silicon
Photograph
Chandra Curry at the Matter in Extreme Conditions experimental hutch 6 at LCLS. 
Chandra Curry working in the MEC hutch
Press Release

Studying a material that even more closely resembles the composition of ice giants, researchers found that oxygen boosts the formation of diamond rain.

Diamond rain formation
News Feature

Researchers mimicked these extreme impacts in the lab and discovered new details about how they transform minerals in Earth’s crust.

meteor
News Feature

Through her work with this nationwide program, Curry plans to make high-power laser facilities more accessible to researchers.

Chandra Breanne Curry
News Feature

New observations of the atomic structure of iron reveal it undergoes "twinning" under extreme stress and pressure.

illustration of a hammer hitting the Earth's iron core
News Feature

High-power lasers will work in concert with the lab’s X-ray laser to dramatically improve our understanding of matter in extreme conditions.

diamond rain
News Feature

She toured the lab’s powerful X-ray laser, looked at the construction of the world’s largest digital camera, and discussed climate research, industries of the...

Secretary Granholm virtual visit