MATERIALS SCIENCE:
X-rays Find New Ways to Shine
Alexander Hellemans
The new generation synchrotron sources improve on their predecessors not only through raw power, but also by tailoring the x-ray beam to users' precise requirements. As well as improving speed and precision, the new machines will also allow users to exploit new techniques for probing materials, going by names such as holography, phase-contrast imaging, tomography, scanning microscopy, microdiffraction, and photon correlation spectroscopy, among others.