Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL)

The Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL), a division of SLAC, is a National User Facility which provides synchrotron radiation, a name given to x-rays or light produced by electrons circulating in a storage ring at nearly the speed of light. These extremely bright x-rays can be used to investigate objects of atomic and molecular size, allowing over 1600 researchers from 210 institutions who use the SSRL facility each year, to perform basic and applied studies on the structure of matter. The facility, which provides 31 experimental stations and ancillary equipment, is used by researchers from industry, government laboratories and universities in many areas, including the fields of biology, chemistry, geology, materials science, electrical engineering, chemical engineering, physics, astronomy, and medicine.