The X-Ray laser is split into parallel tubing to be distributed to the Far Experimental Hall. Dave Gershgorn
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Stanford’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is home to the world’s largest and brightest X-ray laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). It’s been operating since April 2009, and is in the midst of a billion-dollar upgrade that will add two new X-ray laser beams that function 8,000 times faster and 10,000 times brighter.
The entire system spans two miles—that space is used to hurl electrons down a tube and through a gauntlet of magnets, called undulators. When the electrons pass through the undulators, they’re rapidly pulled back and forth. As they wiggle, they emit X-Rays. The electrons synchronize their motion as they pass through the array of magnets, causing the X-Ray light to synchronize as well. When that light is stably travelling together, or “coherent,” the electrons are removed and the light is split over six different research stations.
With this technology, Stanford is able to study the nanoscale workings of the natural world by making quick, stop-motion animations. They can study photosynthesis by looking at how individual molecules move, or replicate levels of heat matched only in the core of stars.
Here’s a look inside:
Klystrons that accelerate electrons toward the lab area sit above ground, in a building that runs the complete two miles of the LCLS. Dave GershgornThe facility’s above-ground housing is sparsely furnished, but highly-regulated. Dave GershgornUnderground, researchers in the Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Science lab ready the equipment for the next test. This room is typically used for the smallest nanoscale particle research that require the highest intensity, like atoms, molecules, and even organic matter like viruses. The AMO lab is the closest to the undulators. Dave GershgornThe LCLS’ X-Ray fires at extremely short bursts: The energy is concentrated into a millionth of a billionth of a second, or a femtosecond. It fires this ultra-fast beam 120 times per second. By looking at matter in such short intervals of time, scientists can build stop-motion movies of things like atoms and molecules that were never possible before. Dave GershgornInside the X-Ray Pump Probe, a robotic arm is able to position the material being tested in different positions as it’s being hit by the X-Ray light. This chamber is optimized to study how matter changes from a solid to liquid to gas. Usually an optical laser will hit the test subject first, changing its state, then the X-Ray will quickly record an image, according to SLAC’s website. Dave GershgornThe six experimentation chambers are separated into the Near Experimental Hall and Far Experimental Hall. In between? A lot of tube. Dave GershgornThe halls of the LCLS are strewn with very expensive-looking and imposing equipment. Dave GershgornThe X-Ray laser is split into parallel tubing to be distributed to the Far Experimental Hall. Dave GershgornThe paths of the X-Ray lasers slowly diverge over the course of hundreds of feet. Dave GershgornTo ensure that its equipment is clean, SLAC “bakes” parts of its hardware. This means workers bring the hardware up to extremely high temperatures to remove any material that could compromise the accuracy of the tests. Dave GershgornIt’s unsafe to be in the same room as the laser during the experiment, so scientists control and monitor the proceedings from a wall of monitors just outside. Dave GershgornThe Macromolecular Femtosecond Crystallography Instrument, or MFX for short, was built after an outpouring of proposals were written to study the processes of organic plant matter, like photosynthesis. It’s been operational since January 2016, and can simulate a helium atmosphere. Dave Gershgorn“Resistance is futile. Conductance is 1/futile.” Dave GershgornIn the Coherent X-Ray Imaging lab, scientists concentrate use lenses to focus and defocus the laser beam, to avoid damaging sensitive samples. Dave GershgornLarge monitors give real-time readings about the current state of the LCLS. Researchers can see total energy, the beam’s frequency, and breakdowns of each research lab. Dave GershgornScientists work inside the module of the Matter in Extreme Conditions lab, which uses the power of the X-Ray beam to emulate conditions not readily available on Earth. The lab studies high density energy situations, only otherwise found in stars. The MEC lab has been used to study things like the creation of diamond. Dave Gershgorn
This article has been updated to reflect that the instruments pictured in the first two images are klystrons, not the tops of the undulators.
