An international team of scientists has tailored special X-ray glasses to concentrate the beam of an X-ray laser stronger than ever before. The individually produced corrective lens eliminates the inevitable defects of an X-ray optics stack almost completely and concentrates three quarters of the X-ray beam to a spot with 250 nanometres (millionths of a millimetre) diameter, closely approaching the theoretical limit. The concentrated X-ray beam can not only improve the quality of certain measurements, but also opens up entirely new research avenues, as the team surrounding DESY lead scientist Christian Schroer writes in the journal Nature Communications.
Although X-rays obey the same optical laws as visible light, they are difficult to focus or deflect: "Only a few materials are available for making suitable X-ray lenses and mirrors," explains co-author Andreas Schropp from DESY. "Also, since the wavelength of X-rays is very much smaller than that of visible light, manufacturing X-ray lenses of this type calls for a far higher degree of precision than is required in the realm of optical wavelengths – even the slightest defect in the shape of the lens can have a detrimental effect."
The production of suitable lenses and mirrors has already reached a very high level of precision, but the standard lenses, made of the element beryllium, are usually slightly too strongly curved near the centre, as Schropp notes. "Beryllium lenses are compression-moulded using precision dies. Shape errors of the order of a few hundred nanometres are practically inevitable in the process." This results in more light scattered out of the focus than unavoidable due to the laws of physics. What's more, this light is distributed quite evenly over a rather large area.
Perfect X-ray focusing via fitting corrective glasses to aberrated optics; Frank Seiboth et al.; Nature Communications, 2017; DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14623
(Score: 2, Interesting) by anubi on Monday March 06 2017, @07:24AM (2 children)
I wonder if we can use this to sharpen up those X-Ray images I see at the doctors and dentists office. I have seen some that I really wonder just how those guys get any useful information from them.
My dentist just got another X-Ray imaging panel ( a silicon retina that goes into the mouth where the film he used to use goes ) that makes much sharper images.... but I would love to see him get the same quality of image I get when I am working on my PCB's under a microscope.
I know the fuzziness I see in his images is due to the aperture width of his X-Ray emitter, and wonder if there isn't some way of making an X-Ray laser if only to get the light collimated as if its coming from a pinhole source - so dental anamolies would cast a sharper shadow.
I would rather see our doctors and dentists have the best tools physics will allow.
"Prove all things; hold fast that which is good." [KJV: I Thessalonians 5:21]
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 06 2017, @01:50PM
I think the biggest problem with medical applications is that the intensity of the waves needs to be kept at a minimum.
I doubt they really need more detail than they already have (at least for teeth). the work is all done by hand with a strongly vibrating instrument, so you can't expect a lot of precision from the start.
Besides... once the image tells them where the problem is, they will get to see everything by eye anyway, with much better resolution and in real colors; they can certainly distinguish between corrupted and healthy tooth once the cavity is exposed.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday March 06 2017, @07:38PM
If you go to the Light Source at Argonne National Lab (and quite a few others), you can X-ray protein crystals to find the protein's 3D structure.
That's among the best tools physics will allow, but slightly overkill for your cavities.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 06 2017, @01:05PM
Heck I'm ordering!
(Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 06 2017, @01:29PM
Don't try to re-configure your Beryllium x-ray lenses at home...the dust/powder from grinding is very nasty stuff:
http://www.espimetals.com/index.php/msds/49-Beryllium [espimetals.com]
8 EXPOSURE CONTROLS AND PERSONAL PROTECTION
Exposure Limits: Beryllium
OSHA/PEL: 0.002 mg/m3
ACGIH/TLV: 0.00005 mg/m3
(Score: 2) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Monday March 06 2017, @09:59PM
I used to grind telescope mirrors. A mirror is considered acceptable if it's "1/8th wave", that is, the deviation from a parabola across the whole surface of the mirror is no more than 1/8 of the wavelength of light.
X-rays have very short wavelengths compared to light, so that 1/8th wave is a correspondingly tighter tolerance.
The 1/8th wave is an ad hoc rule of thumb. Any better and your eye won't detect the difference.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]