Ultrafast science

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

The results should further our understanding of similar reactions with vital roles in chemistry, such as the production of vitamin D in our bodies.

Chemical reactions often involve intermediate steps that are too fast and complex for us to see  – even using our most advanced scientific instruments. Combining two X-ray spectroscopy techniques has now been shown to change that.

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

The award celebrates Huang’s achievements studying atom-scale physics with fast X-ray pulses.

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

En route to record-breaking X-rays, SLAC’s Cryogenic team built a helium-refrigeration plant that lowers the LCLS-II accelerator to superconducting temperatures.

Spiraling laser light reveals how topological insulators lose their ability to conduct electric current on their surfaces.

An extension of the Stanford Research Computing Facility will host several data centers to handle the unprecedented data streams that will be produced by a new generation of scientific projects.

Molecular movie-making is both an art and a science; the results let us watch how nature works on the smallest scales.

The facility, LCLS-II, will soon sharpen our view of how nature works on ultrasmall, ultrafast scales, impacting everything from quantum devices to clean energy.

Researchers discover that a spot of molecular glue and a timely twist help a bacterial enzyme convert carbon dioxide into carbon compounds 20 times faster than plant enzymes do during photosynthesis. The results stand to accelerate progress toward converting carbon...