GOOD NEWS! - International X-ray laser XFEL inaugurated

The 3.4 km long European XFEL (X-Ray Free-Electron Laser) generates extremely intense X-ray flashes and will allow scientists to map atomic details of molecules, cells, viruses in 3D. Furthermore they´ll be able to film chemical reactions and even study the processes in the interior of planets.
XFEL is located in Hamburg, Germany. The 1.2 billion € project was financed by 11 countries, with the main sponsors being Germany and Russia.

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“The establishment of the European XFEL has created a unique cutting-edge research facility, which promises groundbreaking insights into the nanocosmos. The foundations for tomorrow’s innovations are laid by today’s basic research.”

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Those were the words spoken by Prof. Dr. Johanna Wanka, German Minister for Education and Research, at the inauguration event. The first experiments will start in the mid of September and will focus on the structure of proteins.
XFEL produces extremely bright and ultrashort light pulses, up to 27 000 pulses per second. That´s around 200 times more than other X-ray lasers. These X-rays enable new insights into the atomic details and extremely fast processes of the nanoworld.
Single snapshots of particles produced with the X-ray laser can be sewn together to create a“molecular movie” to study the progress of biochemical and chemical reactions.
All this will help the development of new medicines as well as new materials with entirely new properties.
With research sites like this the future seems a little bit brighter! We at the @gnc will keep you updated about groundbreaking discoveries made at the XFEL or elsewhere on this planet!