? X-rays open "impossible" science

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Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios

A new generation of powerful X-ray lasers is being aimed at some of nature's fastest — and most fundamental — processes to try to reveal the atomic intricacies that drive them, Axios managing editor Alison Snyder writes. Why it matters: The details of how atoms interact in chemical reactions and electrons behave in materials could help scientists learn how to better mimic nature's abilities and efficiencies — from the energy-generating reactions of plants to the unique properties of minerals that power electronics. "We'll be able to do experiments that were impossible before," says Matthias Kling, a professor of photon science at Stanford. The reactions the X-rays can capture are happening in femtoseconds (one billionth of one millionth of a second) — or even attoseconds. Keep reading ...