American laboratory creates the world’s brightest X-ray source

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) uses lasers and light-as-air silver metal foam to create the brightest X-ray source ever, twice as bright as any source before it. New Atlas reported on January 18. New research published in the journal Physical Review E.

Ultra-bright X-rays have important applications in advanced research, including studying the structure of materials at the atomic level, observing chemical reactions in real time, and imaging biological samples in great detail. high and analyze complex molecules. They are especially important for sites like LLNL, where fusion research is not only for pure science but also for the development of practical fusion reactors.

The extremely high resolution of ultrabright X-rays is ideal for studying superdense matter, including plasma produced by inertial confinement fusion (ICF) – the process in which pellets of deuterium and tritium are subjected to a series of powerful laser beams. high amount of bombardment. Similar lasers, used in fusion research at the US National Ignition Facility (NIF), were also used to create the new ultra-bright X-rays.

X-rays in places like dental offices are often created by shooting electron beams at a metal target. But in the new study, the team of experts replaced the electron beam with a laser and the conventional metal target with silver foam.

The bottom line is that porous silver has a much larger volume than solid silver of the same weight. This means that heat can flow through it much faster and the entire foam tube can heat evenly in just 1.5 billionths of a second. The result is an X-ray source with an energy of more than 20,000 electron volts, a giant on the microscopic scale of nuclear physics.

According to LLNL, the advent of new X-rays will not only enhance understanding of fusion processes, but the plasma produced during X-ray generation will also yield new information about bright, hot, metallic plasma. away from thermal equilibrium.