slac national accelerator laboratory
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Faster-Than-Light ‘Quasiparticles’ Touted as Futuristic Light Source
Nothing can travel faster than light, or 299,792,458 meters per second. But a certain group of particles acts as if it can, a team of physicists recently concluded, potentially paving the way for a powerful light source that could reveal new kinds of science. When electrons are excited and pushed around, they produce light of…
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These Souped-Up X-rays Are Nearly Ready to Zap Stuff
Scientists are preparing to unleash an extraordinarily powerful X-ray beam that will help reveal how the universe works at the tiniest scales. The beam is made possible thanks to an upgrade to the 3 km-long particle accelerator in Menlo Park, California, which will energize electrons to 99.9999999% the speed of light — around 670 million…
