Have Gun, Will Travel (at Light Speed)
User rating: 4.6 / 5 after 7 vote(s)
A few of the members of the LCLS electron gun collaboration. From left: Juwen Wang, Robert Kirby, Liling Xiao, Erik Jongewaard, Cecile Limborg, Dave Dowell, Jim Lewandowski (rear), Zenghai Li (front).
The front third of the linac is undergoing an extreme makeover, metamorphosing into a first-of-its-kind hard x-ray free-electron laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). But even with the engineering magic embodied by hi-tech vacuum chambers, magnets, undulators and diagnostic equipment from top labs across the country, the LCLS will stand idle without one final, crucial piece of the puzzle: electrons.
Full story »