Scientists line up unruly gas molecules for X-rays
Friday, December 20, 2013 - 09:30
in Physics & Chemistry
(Phys.org) —It's hard to study individual molecules in a gas because they tumble around chaotically and never sit still. Researchers at SLAC overcame this challenge by using a laser to point them in the same general direction, like compass needles responding to a magnet, so they could be more easily studied with an X-ray laser.