X-ray scattering and diffraction

Making ‘magic’ happen with bright X-rays, SLAC’s Silvia Russi takes us into the world of a beamline scientist. 

Researchers at SLAC are developing experimental techniques to evaluate new candidates for inertial fusion energy targets. 

They used SLAC’s ultrafast X-ray laser to follow the impact of a single electron moving within a molecule during an entire chemical reaction.

With a suite of reimagined instruments, researchers take up scientific inquiries that were out of reach just one year ago. 

The team unexpectedly formed gold hydride in an experiment that could pave the way for studying materials under extreme conditions like those found inside certain planets and stars undergoing nuclear fusion.

Results obtained with SLAC’s X-ray laser show how tiny magnetic coils can align over a surprisingly broad timescale, inspiring new ideas for microelectronics. 

Researchers taking the first-ever direct measurement of atom temperature in extremely hot materials inadvertently disproved a decades-old theory and upended our understanding of superheating. 

Ultrafast electrons at SLAC’s LCLS facility resolved the structural changes in a light-activated molecule to determine which simulations work best. 

Now 10,000 times brighter and thousands of times faster, LCLS sheds light on the formation of free radicals in nature. 

The upgrades to SSRL’s resonant soft X-ray scattering beam line could reveal the hidden physics in high-temperature superconductors.

Oxidizing chemicals break this cellular power plant into useless bits, leading to  Parkinson’s disease, ALS, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and more. A small molecule could block the process.

Advanced imaging technique reveals catalyst degradation processes, addressing a key barrier to converting carbon dioxide into liquid fuel.