Building starts on the linear accelerator (LINAC) Coherent Light Source

R&D magazine: Stanford Univ. and the U.S. Dept. of Energy are looking to ‘turn conventional wisdom on its head’ with the LINAC Coherent Light Source. About seven months ago, the Dept. of Energy’s (DOE) Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), Menlo Park, Calif., broke ground for the linear accelerator (LINAC) Coherent Light Source (LCLS). The project is an extremely powerful, $400-million laser, designed to photograph molecules and chemical reactions that previously were impossible to see. And, although excavation crews have not completed boring through the sandstone to complete the new tunnel for the LCLS, collaborators of the project have taken a major step into making it a reality.