SCIENCE - Superpowerful X-Ray Laser Boils Atoms in Molecules, Nanosystems and Solids, Explodes Proteins--All in the Name of Science (preview)

An atom, molecule or speck of dust placed at the focus of the world's most powerful x-ray laser doesn't stand a chance. The illuminated matter reaches a temperature in excess of one million kelvins, as hot as the solar corona, in less than a trillionth of a second. Atoms of, for example, neon subjected to such extreme radiation rapidly lose all 10 of their electrons, and once they have lost their protective cloak of electrons, they explode away f ...

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=superpowerful-x-ray-l