![]() The diamond mirrors only reflects X-rays. Because of the wavelength of an X-ray laser is so small, they could also precisely destroy cancer cell or treat other diseases. ![]() An X-ray laser would eliminate the need for these crystals a single molecule could take a better picture than anything currently available. To take a picture of these tiny structures, scientists have to carefully and painstakingly grow entire crystals of these molecules. Instead, X-rays lasers would take pictures of much smaller things like proteins, drugs or other molecules. ![]() X-ray lasers will not be used like traditional medical X-rays - diagnosing broken bones or lung problems. The potential range of these experiments is huge. The existing facility at Stanford, and others being built in Germany and the U.S., will help eliminate this backlog of experiments, but it will still take years to do all the experiments scientists want. "This is a situation where people are extremely anxious to do a long list of very important experiments," said Durbin. Silicon mirrors won't reflect more powerful X-rays, however. Most lasers on Earth function by bouncing one wavelength of light back and forth between two mirrors, which are usually made of silicon. To solve this problem, scientists are trying to develop other ways to create X-ray lasers. However, the number of experiments greatly outnumbers the available time that the laser can operate. ![]() Scientists around the world use the X-ray laser for a variety of experiments in biology, physics and chemistry. The first X-ray laser was unveiled less than one year ago, at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Laboratory, which is buried underground and measures several football fields in length. X-rays have been around since the 19th century, but X-ray lasers are a much more recent development. "The only way we can see to build the next generation of X-ray lasers is by using diamond crystals." Shvyd'ko, a scientist at Argonne National Laboratory, who along with colleagues at Brookhaven National Laboratory recently co-authored a paper in the journal Nature Physics. "Everything around us can be studied with X-ray lasers," said Yuri V. ![]()
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