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Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) RSS feed

The Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC, the world’s first hard X-ray free-electron laser, takes X-ray snapshots of atoms and molecules at work, revealing fundamental processes in materials, technology and living things.

Visit LCLS website

Rooftop view of Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS)

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
Photograph
SLAC staff gather in the accelerator control room to celebrate first light produced by the LCLS-II project’s pioneering superconducting accelerator.
First light celebration
Illustration
SLAC’s newly upgraded Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) successfully produced its first X-rays, creating unparalleled capabilities that will usher in...
LCLS-II first light
News Feature

X-ray laser studies help researchers identify early steps in the freezing process to better understand how clouds make ice and their effect on climate.

supercooled water droplets
News Feature

They used synthetic diamond crystals as mirrors to make X-ray pulses run laps inside a vacuum chamber, demonstrating a key process needed for future...

Two scientists in a control room full of computer monitors that allow them to adjust diamond mirrors in their CBXFEL experiment
News Feature

Leora Dresselhaus-Marais, Claudio Emma,  Bernhard Mistlberger and Johanna Nelson Weker will pursue cutting-edge research into decarbonizing steel production, theoretical physics, generating more intense particle...

This photo shows all four recipients from SLAC and Stanford of the DOE's 2023 Early Career Award
News Feature

Bringing ultrafast physics to structural biology has revealed the coordinated dance of molecules in unprecedented clarity, which could aid in the design of new...

molecular control
news collection

An upgrade to SLAC’s renowned Linac Coherent Light Source will allow it to deliver X-ray laser beams that are 10,000 times brighter with pulses that arrive up to a million times per second.

collage of LCLS-II milestones
Past Event

UPDATE: This lecture has been postponed. Please check back for updates. 

Public Lecture: Taran Driver
Public Lecture Poster

Catching up to Electrons on the Move

Taran Driver Public Lecture
Press Release

After decades of effort, scientists have finally seen the process by which nature creates the oxygen we breathe using SLAC’s X-ray laser.

Photosystem II
Animation
In photosystem II, the water-splitting center cycles through four stable states, S0-S3. On a baseball field, S0 would be...
Photosystem II baseball