X-ray laser

X-ray is among the most important research tools today, and has given priceless contributions to all disciplines within the natural sciences. State of the art in this field is called XFEL, X-ray Free Electron Laser, which may be 10 thousand million times stronger than the x-rays at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble. In addition XFEL has properties that allow the study of processes which previously would have been impossible. Of special interest are depictions on atomic- and molecular level by the use of x-ray holographic methods, and being able to study chemical reactions in nature's own timescale, the femtosecond. Conclusion: The construction of x-ray lasers is a natural development in a scientific field which has an enormous influence on the surrounding society. While the discovery of x-ray was an important breakthrough in itself, new applications appear one after the other: Medical depiction, dissemination, diffraction, DNA and protein structures, synchrotron radiation and tomography. There is reason to believe that XFEL implies a technological leap as big as the synchrotrons some decades ago. As we are now talking about studies of femtosecond and direct depiction of chemical reactions, it is obvious that we are dealing with a revolution to come, with extensive consequences, both scientifically and culturally. (EW)