SLAC topics

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)

News Brief

An X-ray imaging technique revealed that copper nanofoams used in inertial fusion experiments aren't as uniform as expected.

Green blobs on a blue background.
News Feature

The method could lead to the development of new materials with tailored properties, with potential applications in fields such as climate change, quantum computing...

self driving experiments
News Brief

A study reveals an ultrathin material’s ability to circularly polarize light, potentially informing how they work in optoelectronic devices.

Image from SLAC's high-speed electron camera showing circular polarization of terahertz light.
News Feature

Improvements to the lab’s “electron camera” use AI and “time stamping” to help reveal nature’s speedy processes more accurately. 

Film strip showing images of the MeV-UED, experimental setups and graphics.
News Feature

The Ultrafast X-ray Summer School, run by the Stanford PULSE Institute and hosted at SLAC, opens the door for students and postdocs to imagine...

A group photo of people in red tee shirts.
News Feature

Researchers figured out how to spray and freeze a cell sample in its natural state in milliseconds, helping them capture basic biological processes in...

These are two images of the same cell at different times during an experiment.
News Feature

Researchers developed new methods that produce intense attosecond pulses and pulse pairs to gain insights into the fastest motions inside atoms and molecules. It...

attosecond pulses
News Feature

Following the NIF ignition demonstrations, the prospect of developing a fusion energy source using lasers looks brighter than ever. 

Illustration featuring three SLAC scientists Alan Fry, Arianna Gleason, and Siegfried Glenzer.
News Feature

Scientists report the first look at electrons moving in real-time in liquid water; findings open up a whole new field of experimental physics

IDREAM
News Feature

The research could lead to a better understanding of how metals behave under extreme conditions, which will aid in the development of more resilient...

phonon hardening
News Feature

Wan-Lin Hu’s job is to improve the way people and artificial intelligence collaborate to run SLAC’s complex machines.

Wan-Lin Hu is seen talking with talks with accelerator systems operator Kabir Lubana in the lab’s main Accelerator Control Room.
News Feature

A new experiment suggests that this exotic precipitation forms at even lower pressures and temperatures than previously thought and could influence the unusual magnetic...

Diamond rain