* Astronomy

X-ray laser takes aim at cosmic mystery

An international collaboration including researchers from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has refined a key process in understanding extreme plasmas such as those found in the sun, stars, at the rims of black holes and galaxy clusters.
In short, the team identified a new solution to an astrophysical phenomenon through a series of laser experiments.
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X-rays are handy for examining all kinds of materials, from our bones and lungs to high explosives and other ingredients in a nuclear weapon. If the x rays are intense enough and come in short enough pulses, they can supply information about the dynamic processes in many forms of condensed matter, such as solid materials, liquid crystals, and extremely dense plasmas. Using the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS)-an x-ray machine with unprecedented brilliance being considered for construction at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Centre-researchers will be able to measure, for the first time, melting, recrystallisation, and light-induced structural change on time scales down to a quadrillionth of a second.
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