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
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The award recognizes Driver’s contribution toward attosecond X-ray capabilities.

A portrait of Taran Driver.
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An international team has uncovered details about the formation of DNA's building blocks, paving the way  for potential medical and therapeutic applications.

radical
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Scientists developed a new method to unlock the secrets of RNA. The implications are wide-reaching, from better understanding diseases to designing new therapeutics. 

CXI hutch
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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.
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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.
News 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
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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
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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
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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
News 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