These photos represent an eye blink in the evolution of the Linac Coherent Light Source, a groundbreaking facility taking shape at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.
In 1860, Parisian inventor Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville set out to capture the beauty of a French folk song, "Au Clair de la Lune," using pig hair and soot.
The life-saving medical technology known as Magnetic Resonance Imaging, or MRI, makes detailed images of soft tissue in the body, nearly eliminating the need for exploratory surgery.
On September 10, 2008, scientists at the European laboratory CERN attempted for the first time to send a beam of particles around a new particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider.
On the wall outside Cherrill Spencer's office, a scientific poster describes a prototype for a new type of accelerator magnet; a card thanks her for donating her long hair to make a wig for an ailing girl; and a scribbled note points to a spot on a map southeast of Novosibirsk, Russia.