A colossal project called XFEL located in Germany will allow the collective sciences gain understanding of solar cells, fuel cells and watch how atoms and molecules combine.
The X-ray laser project XFEL holds new possibilities in experimental research. The XFEL project will enable researchers to film chemical reactions, map the atomic details of molecules, and capture the 3D images of the nanocosmos. The acronym XFEL stands for, "X-ray free-electron laser."
An easy description of what XFEL does is that it accelerates to a high energy status electrons and then makes the electrons emit high-intensity X-ray laser flashes.
The X-ray laser is a European endeavor with connections to DESY research center currently in the planning stages of construction. The DESY center in Hamburg, Germany is set for construction in early 2008 and is expected to be completed by 2013, according to a XFEL news release.
The plan involves a connection between the DESY plant in Hamburg-Bahrenfield to the city of Schenefeld. Most of the facility will be housed underground, but portions of the facilities may be observed above ground. The investment for the project construction will cost 986 million Euros. The XFEL project includes in all three sites. The DESY Bahrenfield, Osdorfer Born, and Schenefeld.
The XFEL accelerator tunnel will begin in DESY Bahrenfield. On this site the electrons will be prepared for acceleration. It will also be used to access shafts and halls which will be used in the construction and installation of the components required in the tunnels.
The main accelerator will end at Osdorfer Born, where the electron bunches will be separated and distributed to the various tunnels for generating light. The Schenefeld facility will be the place where the experiments with the X-ray laser. It will be home for over 350 scientists chosen for their interests and expertise in the area. The scientists will include members from Germany and the international community.
The range of applications for this technology include, improving scientific knowledge of the process taking place in fuel cells and solar cells. Scientists will also be able to watch how biomolecules at work observe the detail of how atoms and molecules combine to make materials.
The application of this science can be broadly applied to chemistry, biology, material science and physics. The possibilities for the XFEL technology being utilized in cross-disciplinary experimentation can only be imagined at this point. The unique feature of the XFEL X-ray laser is that the measured flash exposure time is a quadrillionth of a second. This infinitesimal exposure time ensures the photograph or image will not be blurred.
Related stories:
DESY's FLASH illuminates the nano-world
Using the unique soft X-ray free-electron laser FLASH at DESY in Hamburg, Germany, an international team of scientists achieved a world first by taking a high-resolution diffraction image of a non-crystalline sample with a single extremely short and intense laser shot.
First Results from DESY's New Free-Electron Laser
The first measuring period for external users at the new X-ray radiation source VUV-FEL at DESY in Hamburg (Germany) has been successfully concluded. Since its official startup in August 2005, a total of 14 research teams from ten countries have carried out first experiments using the facility’s intense laser beam.
China to Participate in the European X-ray Laser Project XFEL
Within the framework of the meeting of the international XFEL Steering Committee in Berlin, today two representatives of the People's Republic of China's Ministry of Science and Technology signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the European X-ray laser project XFEL. "China's plan to participate in the XFEL X-ray laser project documents the great importance of the XFEL beyond European boundaries" declared the chairman of the DESY Board of Directors Professor Dr. Albrecht Wagner.
Superconductivity for Future Particle Accelerator Project ILC
Today (August 20), the International Committee for Future Accelerators (ICFA) announced at a scientific conference in Beijing that the planned
International Linear Collider (ILC) is to be realized in superconducting technology. This decision is of great importance for DESY and its international partners, since they developed this technology together and successfully tested it at the TESLA Test Facility (TTF) in Hamburg. The ILC is the next major project of particle physics. No decision has yet been taken on the realization and site of the facility. As the next step, particle physicists will now join forces to develop the technical design of the project as rapidly as possible.
Brilliantly bright light source is one step closer to reality, says scientist
(PhysOrg.com) -- A brilliantly bright light source that can examine the detail of atoms at a microscopic level is one step closer, thanks to the adoption of a Europe-wide convention, says a leading scientist from Imperial College London.
Improving our ability to peek inside molecules
(PhysOrg.com) -- It's not easy to see a single molecule inside a living cell. Nevertheless, researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are helping to develop a new technique that will enable them to create detailed high-resolution images, giving scientists an unprecedented look at the atomic structure of cellular molecules.
'Watching atoms move' is goal of powerful new X-ray sources
When excited, atoms move at impossibly small length and time scales -- too small and too fast to have been observed in years past. But as applied and engineering physics professor Joel D. Brock comments in the Feb. 2 issue of
Science, a new generation of X-ray sources is allowing scientists to watch atoms move.
Researchers make molecules 'pose' for photograph
For anyone who has ever had trouble getting children to stand still for family photographs, consider the frustration of scientists who have always wanted to photograph isolated gas phase molecules, but they just wouldn’t hold still long enough.