SLAC topics

X-ray science RSS feed

X-ray studies at SLAC facilities help scientists understand the fundamental workings of nature by probing matter in atomic detail.

atoms forming a tentative bond

News Feature

A groundbreaking study shows defects spreading through diamond faster than the speed of sound 

Shocking a diamond with a high-power laser produced defects that propagated faster than the speed of sound.
News Feature

Powerful X-rays generated at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory help researchers shed new light on feather evolution.

This figure shows how protein compositions in feathers change over time and temperature.
News Brief

SSRL's X-ray tools reveal that alcohol groups on a nanodiamond's surface allow one of the world's most valuable materials to bond with one of...

Purple layers surround angular red chunks. These are struck by gold rays, which release white spheres from the purple and red objects.
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
News Feature

Garcia-Esparza’s research offers unique insights into catalysts relevant to renewable energy generation and emerging materials for microelectronics.

This is a photograph of SSRL scientist Angel Garcia Esparza, who was awarded the 2023 Spicer Award
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 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
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

Photosystem II baseball
Press Release

New SLAC-Stanford Battery Center bridges the gaps between discovering, manufacturing and deploying innovative energy storage solutions. 

Illustration showing a battery researcher at left, a battery at center and a grid of battery applications at right.
Illustration

The new SLAC-Stanford Battery Center aims to bridge the gaps between discovering, manufacturing and deploying innovative energy storage solutions. 

Illustration showing a battery researcher at left, a battery at center and a grid of battery applications at right.