The machine, called the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL), acts as a high-speed camera that can capture images of individual atoms in a few millionths of a billionth of a second. Unlike a conventional camera, though, everything imaged by the X-ray laser is obliterated – its beam is 100 times more intense than if all the sunlight hitting the Earth’s surface were focused onto a single thumbnail. XFEL is the world’s third major X-ray laser facility – projects in Japan and the US have already spawned major advances in structural biology and materials science. At XFEL, scientists will be able to collect data at a far quicker rate and miss less of the action between shots. Facebook Twitter Pinterest The nearly mile-long tunnel that houses world’s biggest X-ray facility near Hamburg, Germany.

Source: The Guardian September 01, 2017 15:56 UTC