Story perspectives

XFEL Captures First Microseconds of Krypton, Argon Freezing

6/11/2026

Summary

Story summary

Scientists captured the first microseconds of liquid freezing using the European XFEL’s ultra-fast X-ray laser.
Researchers measured krypton and argon freezing at the European XFEL facility, narrowing theory-experiment gaps to within a factor of one hundred.
Classical nucleation theory predicts water freezing rates that can differ by up to 25 orders of magnitude.
Because Lennard-Jones liquids are simple, measured nucleation rates for krypton and argon matched predictions more closely.

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Story summary

Scientists captured the first microseconds of liquid freezing using the European XFEL’s ultra-fast X-ray laser.
Researchers measured krypton and argon freezing at the European XFEL facility, narrowing theory-experiment gaps to within a factor of one hundred.
Classical nucleation theory predicts water freezing rates that can differ by up to 25 orders of magnitude.
Because Lennard-Jones liquids are simple, measured nucleation rates for krypton and argon matched predictions more closely.