If you like lasers, this is prime time.
The Stanford National Accelerator Laboratory, commonly called SLAC, is getting a remodel, and a recharge at the same time.
Part of the two-mile structure that runs along (and under) the 280 freeway in Menlo Park is being updated to the tune of a billion dollars.
When the upgrade is complete, the facility itself will be longer, and its laser speed will be measured in quadrillionths of a second.
The maze of pipes and magnets sitting underground, not far from Stanford University, will get more powerful with new X-Ray lasers.
The lasers will be so fast, SLAC officials say they’ll improve the way they test drugs, detect pollution, and many other uses.
How fast? David Fritz at SLAC tells us, "The accelerator today produces 120 bursts of electrons per second, and the new accelerator will allow us to take that up to a million pulses per second."
Local
This won’t come as fast as the lasers, though — much of the new material is being made elsewhere. The project will take at least a year.
Then, watch the lasers fire away.
Scott can be zapped on Twitter: @scottbudman
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