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

Browse tagged content

Rooftop view of Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS)
Feature

A laser compressing an aluminum crystal provides a clearer view of a material’s plastic deformation, potentially leading to the design of stronger nuclear fusion...

an abstract illustration of rippling waves made of shining dots
Feature

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

meteor
Feature

X-ray laser experiments show that intense light distorts the structure of a thermoelectric material in a unique way, opening a new avenue for controlling...

Illustration shows two ball-and-stick molecules in pink and red separated by a blurred streak representing how the first structure is slightly deformed into the second.
Illustration
Illustration shows two ball-and-stick molecules in pink and red separated by a blurred streak representing how the first structure is slightly deformed into the second.
Video

Public lecture presented by Ben Ofori-Okai

Public lecture poster for Getting to the Core of Earth’s Magnetic Field
Video
Feature

Less than a millionth of a billionth of a second long, attosecond X-ray pulses allow researchers to peer deep inside molecules and follow electrons...

Illustration of attosecond coherent electron motions.
Feature

High-speed X-ray free-electron lasers have unlocked the crystal structures of small molecules relevant to chemistry and materials science, proving a new method that could...

Crystallography illustrations
Feature

The ePix series of detectors is designed to keep pace with ever more demanding experiments at SLAC and elsewhere.

SLAC’s Chris Kenney holds a 16-module
Feature

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

Chandra Breanne Curry
Video

Public lecture presented by Franklin Fuller

Public Lecture | Photosynthesis: How Plants Build the Air we Breathe - Atom by Atom
Video
Feature

A better understanding of this process could inform the next generation of artificial photosynthetic systems that produce clean and renewable energy.

water droplets on plant
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