<p>HUGE opportunity for Florida State...word is this will be funded and implemented!
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"Big Light" is an initiative of the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory to construct a fourth-generation free electron laser light source alongside the lab's world-leading high magnetic field user facility at The Florida State University.</p>
<p>Pairing this unique light source with high magnetic fields will open up a new experimental regime that has never been available to scientists by spanning the challenging region of the electromagnetic spectrum between the highest frequencies currently employed in electronics/cell phone technology, and the visible part of the spectrum. Bridging this so-called "terahertz gap" with a bigger, brighter and better light source designed with experimental science in mind will enable researchers to probe nature in completely new ways.</p>
<p>The addition of Big Light to the nation's research arsenal will provide transformational research opportunities in disciplines spanning condensed matter physics, materials science, chemistry, biochemistry, biology and medicine, including:</p>
<pre><code>* The study of new materials that could one day lead to faster and smaller electronics, and possibly even quantum computing
* Research that could move fuel cell technology forward by learning more about chemical reactions and how to control them
* Research that could lead to cleaner and more efficient refining of fossil fuels and the reduction of carbon dioxide
* The study of superconductors that could change the way electricity is transmitted and stored, and
* Research into the structure and functions of biologically important molecules that could lead to insights into understanding disease processes and drug discovery.
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<p>See: National</a> High Magnetic Field Laboratory - What's Big Light? An overview for Laypeople</p>