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How the World’s Most Powerful X-Ray Laser Makes Movies of Molecules

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How the World’s Most Powerful X-Ray Laser Makes Movies of Molecules

How the World’s Most Powerful X-Ray Laser Makes Movies of Molecules","user_id":null,"post_id":5172315,"post_version_id":"2_2026-11-02T10:01:59Z_5172315","split_test_identifier":null,"split_test_variant":null,"seamless_instance_id":null,"post_title":"How the World’s Most Powerful X-Ray Laser Makes Movies of Molecules","author":"Andy Altman","original_publish_date":"2026-11-02","display_date":"2026-11-01","updated_at":"2026-11-01T13:00:00Z","categories":"Science,Tech","tags":["chemistry","LCLS","LCLS-II","molecular movies","particle accelerator","physics","quantum materials","SLAC","SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory","Stanford","ultrafast science","What The Future","X-ray laser"],"word_count":108,"days_since_published":0,"days_since_updated":0,"focus_keyword":"","seo_score":10,"content_type":"post","series":"","no_index":false,"weeks_since_published":0,"weeks_since_updated":0,"version_revision_type":"","current_revision_purpose":""}"> Science

We tour the LCLS-II facility to see how ultrafast femtosecond pulses capture real-time chemical reactions and electron motion.

Get an inside look at the world’s most powerful X-ray laser at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in Stanford, which scientists use to film movies of molecules.

Read more about cutting-edge science and tech: Inside the World’s Biggest Bet on Fusion Energy World’s Largest Gun Aims to Shoot Satellites Into Space See SLAC, a two-mile particle accelerator next to Stanford

Timecode chapters 0:00 Introduction to SLAC and LCLS 0:48 Upgrading the particle accelerator 1:45 How cryomodules work 2:23 Cooling below outer space temperatures 3:11 Generating hard X-rays 4:15 Filming “molecular movies” of atoms 5:03 Real-world applications and future experiments

Video credits Host: Andy Altman Scripted by: Andy Altman Producer: Andy Altman Camera: Celso Bulgatti Video editor: Jon Gomez Thumbnail designer: Zooey Liao

Andy Altman covered all things science and tech. He led production on CNET's award-winning limited documentary series Hacking the Apocalypse. He also created and co-hosted our video series What the Future. See full bio

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