World’s most powerful x-ray laser Linac Coherent Light Source created in Bay Area lab set for major upgrade: Here’s a look

MENLO PARK, Calif. (KGO) — The world’s most powerful X-ray laser is located at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory in the Bay Area, and it’s about to become even more powerful.

According to Mike Dunne, Director of the LINAC Coherent Light Source (LCLS), the laser is situated in the perfect spot in the Bay Area.

“There’s about a mile-long stretch underground in Menlo Park in here in the Bay Area,” Dunne said, “That’s colder than outer space, but two degrees above absolute zero to create the accelerating capabilities that then power our X-ray laser.”

That X-Ray Laser, called Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) gives researchers a look at the world like no other.

The best minds from around the world apply to work with the laser to better research their ideas.

“It’s free of charge, you just have to have the best idea as to how to make use of it,” Dunne said.

Now work is underway to make that X-Ray laser even more powerful, working even better as a sort of high-quality camera that can see things so small that no regular camera or device could ever catch.

“To allow us to take these molecular scale movies with incredibly high precision,” Dunne said, “Going from about a hundred frames per second in our movie, to a million frames per second.”

MORE: Bay Area lab unveils world’s most powerful X-ray laser

Friday it was announced that the Department of Energy has given the green light to start construction on that high energy upgrade.

With the upgrade boosting what the x-ray laser can do, it could possibly transform our everyday lives like creating better medicine.

“We can look at how viruses invade ourselves, create a movie of how that’s happening, and develop next generation drugs, pharmaceuticals, to prevent that happening with much greater efficacy than now,” Dunne said.

Beyond health care, the upgrade promises to enhance technology and energy efficiency. “We can create much faster, much longer-lasting electronics,” Dunne explained, adding that there are potential environmental benefits as well, “At the moment, energy is reliant on fossil fuels, but we can learn from nature-how plants absorb sunlight and create oxygen-to develop a new type of clean fuel source for our nation.”

While the U.S. currently has the most powerful X-ray laser, the upgrade ensures that the nation maintains its lead.

“The rest of the world is paying attention to this, building similar systems in Germany, China, Japan, and South Korea. We want to stay ahead. It’s an exciting field to be in,” Dunne said.

The high-energy upgrade is expected to be completed by 2030, with experiments potentially beginning as early as 2027.