Powerful x-ray source can image chemical reactions in real time
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028647
BBC : Able to produce x-ray pulses a billion times as bright as any other existing source, the Linac Coherent Light Source at SLAC in California is capable of capturing images of the chemical reactions of atoms and molecules. The machine produces 100 pulses per second, and each is as powerful as “the national grid of a large country,” writes Pallab Ghosh for the BBC. The bright flashes of light allow scientists to take stop-motion pictures and perform stroboscopic experiments on materials at the nanoscale. That capability could prove revolutionary to the fields of biology and chemistry—for example, in studying neurological disease progression, such as in Parkinson’s, or in making chemical production faster and more efficient.
