Trillionth-of-a-Second Camera Captures Atomic Motion
Typical digital cameras open their shutter for about one four-thousandths of a second. To capture atomic-scale activity, a shutter speed billions of times faster is needed. In 2023, scientists introduced a shutter capable of clicking within a trillionth of a second—250 million times faster than conventional cameras.
Revealing Dynamic Disorder in Materials
This ultrafast shutter speed allows researchers to observe dynamic disorder—clusters of atoms moving and shifting within a material over time, often triggered by vibrations or temperature changes. While this phenomenon remains not fully understood, it plays a vital role in defining material properties and reactions.
"It's only with this new vsPDF tool that we can really see this side of materials," said Simon Billinge, a materials scientist at Columbia University in New York. "With this technique, we'll be able to watch a material and see which atoms are in the dance and which are sitting it out."
About the Variable Shutter Atomic Pair Distribution Function (vsPDF)
The new technology, called variable shutter atomic pair distribution function (vsPDF), enhances our ability to capture and analyze the atomic-scale motion that was previously impossible to visualize. This advance opens new doors for materials science research.
Impact of the Discovery
- Enables detailed study of atomic vibrations and movements in materials.
- Improves understanding of how materials respond to external stimuli such as heat or mechanical vibrations.
- Unlocks insights into material properties that could influence the development of new technologies.
Overall, the invention of the vsPDF shutter offers unprecedented access to observing atomic behavior, promising deeper knowledge in materials science.
Author's summary: Scientists developed an ultra-fast shutter, 250 million times quicker than digital cameras, enabling the study of dynamic atomic motion that shapes material properties.