SLAC-led researchers have made the first direct measurements of a small, extremely rapid atomic rearrangement that dramatically changes the properties of many important materials.

An international team led by scientists from two SLAC/Stanford institutes has devised a much faster and more accurate way of measuring subtle atomic vibrations that underlie important hidden properties of materials.

Pushing gold exploration to the nanoscale, scientists used SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser to produce a series of 3-D images that detail a ringing effect in tiny gold crystals.

Blue-glowing diamond crystals hold promise for expanding the research capacity of SLAC's X-ray laser by divvying up its pulses for use in separate, simultaneous experiments.

The way electrons move within and between molecules, transferring energy as they go, plays an important role in many chemical and biological processes, such as the conversion of sunlight to energy in photosynthesis and solar cells

A surprising atomic-scale wiggle underlies the way a special class of materials reacts to light, according to research that may lead to new devices for harvesting solar energy.