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High Energy Density Science Division (HEDS) RSS feed

SLAC scientists investigate the properties of warm dense matter, shocks, and high-intensity laser-plasma interactions.

Demo with a water jet in a high energy density science laser lab.

News Feature

Computer simulations and lab experiments help researchers understand the violent universe and could potentially lead to new technologies that benefit humankind.

Researchers use X-rays to study some of the most extreme and exotic forms of matter ever created, in detail never before possible.
News Feature

The 2010 experiment marked a significant step forward in understanding extreme states of matter at the hearts of stars, planets and nuclear fusion reactions.

The interior of an LCLS chamber set up for an investigation into hot, dense matter.
News Feature

A 200-terawatt laser at SLAC will synchronize with X-ray laser pulses to precisely measure more extreme temperatures and pressures in exotic forms of matter.

Image - Eduardo Granados inspects a large titanium sapphire crystal, the operative component in a newly upgraded high-power laser system that is designed to work in conjunction with a unique X-ray laser at SLAC.
News Feature

A SLAC study observed silica's shockingly fast transformation into a highly compressed form found in meteor craters.

Image - Meteor Crater, formed by a meteorite impact 50,000 years ago in Arizona, produced a hard, compressed form of silica known as stishovite. Researchers measured the transformation of a fused silica glass into stishovite using SLAC's X-ray laser.
News Feature

Researchers have used an X-ray laser to record, in detail never possible before, the microscopic motion and effects of shock waves rippling across diamond.

Image - Researchers prepare for an experiment in the Matter in Extreme Conditions station’s chamber at SLAC’s Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser. (SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory)
Past Event

Presented by Siegfried Glenzer. Normally we think of hydrogen as a gas.  But elsewhere in the universe, hydrogen under extreme pressure can exist in...

stillframe public lecture jupiter in a bottle
News Feature

A SLAC experiment has provided the first detailed look at the creation of an exotic superhot, compressed concoction known as "warm dense matter" –...

IMAGE - A study at SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source X-ray laser provides the most detailed measurements yet of a material's temperature and compression as it transitions into a mysterious state known as "warm dense matter."
News Feature

SLAC's Siegfried Glenzer has been selected to receive an Ernest Orlando Lawrence Award, presented by the U.S. Secretary of Energy to honor scientists across...

Photo - Siegfried Glenzer