The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) is a revolutionary new machine
for the production of hard x-rays. The x-rays are emitted in the form
of a laser beam, with a brightness that is 10 billion times greater
than that of any existing x-ray source on earth. X-rays are already our
most widely used and essential tool for studying and understanding the
arrangement of atoms in materials such as metals, semiconductors,
ceramics, polymers, catalysts, and plastics, and in biological
molecules. The structural knowledge obtained with x-rays holds the key
to understanding the properties of matter such as mechanical strength,
magnetism, transport of electrical currents and light, energy storage,
and catalysis. Likewise, in biology much of what we know about
structure and function on a molecular level comes from x-ray studies.
Such knowledge forms the basis for the development of new materials and
molecules and the enhancement of their properties, which in turn will
advance technology, fuel our economy, and improve our quality of life.
LCLS will bring a completely new dimension to the use of x-rays to
study matter through its unique properties never before available.
The first results concerning LCLS injection line will be presented.