X-ray Science
New X-Ray Laser Technique Reveals Magnetic Skyrmion Fluctuations
A new “two-bucket” method of delivering pairs of X-ray pulses gives a 1,000-fold improvement in seeing magnetic fluctuations that could lead to improved data storage materials.
Kathryn Hastie Wins Spicer Award for Lassa Virus Work at SLAC’s X-ray Synchrotron
The Scripps researcher is honored for groundbreaking research at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource that accelerated the development of a vaccine for deadly Lassa fever.
Researchers Create Molecular Movie of Virus Preparing to Infect Healthy Cells
With SLAC’s X-ray laser, scientists captured a virus changing shape and rearranging its genome to invade a cell.
Newly Upgraded Laser Allows Scientists to Peer Further Into the Extreme Universe at SLAC’s LCLS
Tripling the energy and refining the shape of optical laser pulses at LCLS’s Matter in Extreme Conditions instrument allows researchers to recreate higher-pressure conditions and explore unsolved questions relevant to fusion energy, plasma physics and materials science.
Scientists Watch ‘Artificial Atoms’ Assemble into Perfect Lattices with Many Uses
A serendipitous discovery lets researchers spy on this self-assembly process for the first time with SLAC’s X-ray synchrotron. What they learn will help them fine-tune precision materials for electronics, catalysis and more.
Scientists Discover How Dense, Extraterrestrial Ice can Form in Just Billionths of a Second
A flash of green laser followed by pulses of X-rays, and mere nanoseconds later an extraterrestrial form of ice has formed.
Scientists See Molecules ‘Breathe’ in Remarkable Detail
The research team was able to watch energy from light flow through atomic ripples in a molecule. Such insights may provide new ways to develop a class of materials that improve efficiency and reduce the size of applications like solar cells and memory storage devices.
Scientists Get First Direct Look at How Electrons ‘Dance’ with Vibrating Atoms
Extraordinarily precise measurements -- within millionths of a billionth of a second and a billionth of a hair's breadth -- show this ‘electron-phonon coupling’ can be far stronger than predicted, and could potentially play a role in unconventional superconductivity.
SLAC’s Electron Hub Gets New ‘Metro Map’ for World’s Most Powerful X-Ray Laser
A makeover of the historic Beam Switch Yard prepares the lab for the installation of the LCLS X-ray laser upgrade.
SLAC Experiment is First to Decipher Atomic Structure of an Intact Virus with an X-ray Laser
The method dramatically reduces the amount of virus material required and allows scientists to get results several times faster.