| The world's first hard X-ray free-electron laser started operation with a bang. First experiments at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory's Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) stripped electrons one by one from neon atoms (illustrated in the image) and nitrogen molecules, in some cases removing only the innermost electrons to create "hollow atoms." Understanding how the machine's ultra-bright X-ray pulses interact with matter will be critical for making clear, atomic-scale images of biological molecules and movies of chemical processes (Image credit: Gregory Stewart, SLAC). |
