World's fastest camera freezes time at 10 trillion frames per second
What happens when a new technology is so precise that it operates on a scale beyond our characterization capabilities? For example, the lasers used at INRS produce ultrashort pulses in the femtosecond range (10–15 s) that are far too short to visualize. Although some measurements are possible, nothing beats a clear image, says INRS[*] professor and ultrafast imaging specialist Jinyang Liang. He and his colleagues, led by Caltech's Lihong Wang, have developed what they call T-CUP: the world's fastest camera [open, DOI: 10.1038/s41377-018-0044-7] [DX], capable of capturing ten trillion (1013) frames per second (Fig. 1). This new camera literally makes it possible to freeze time to see phenomena—and even light!—in extremely slow motion.
[...] Using current imaging techniques, measurements taken with ultrashort laser pulses must be repeated many times, which is appropriate for some types of inert samples, but impossible for other more fragile ones. For example, laser-engraved glass can tolerate only a single laser pulse, leaving less than a picosecond to capture the results. In such a case, the imaging technique must be able to capture the entire process in real time [open, DOI: 10.1364/OPTICA.5.001113] [DX].
[...] Setting the world record for real-time imaging speed, T-CUP can power a new generation of microscopes for biomedical, materials science, and other applications. This camera represents a fundamental shift, making it possible to analyze interactions between light and matter at an unparalleled temporal resolution.
The first time it was used, the ultrafast camera broke new ground by capturing the temporal focusing of a single femtosecond laser pulse in real time (Fig. 2). This process was recorded in 25 frames taken at an interval of 400 femtoseconds and detailed the light pulse's shape, intensity, and angle of inclination.
[*] INRS — "The Institut national de la recherche scientifique (English: 'National Institute of Scientific Research') is the research-oriented branch of the Université du Québec that offers only graduate studies. INRS conducts research in four broad sectors: water, earth and the environment; energy, materials and telecommunications; human, animal and environmental health; and urbanization, culture and society." (Summary is from Wikipedia).
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @12:33AM (2 children)
(Score: 3, Funny) by c0lo on Monday October 15 2018, @12:49AM (1 child)
Your premature ejaculation is quite extreme if it happens in tenths of femtoseconds.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday October 15 2018, @05:05PM
Darn millennials counting their "performance" in video frames !
(Does fitbit post your stats on tinder automatically yet?)
(Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @12:33AM
It's really just 1 trillion fps upconverted.
(Score: 2) by linkdude64 on Monday October 15 2018, @01:02AM
Can it spot the exact moment when a woman's heart breaks on a TV soap opera?
(Score: 3, Touché) by RandomFactor on Monday October 15 2018, @02:08AM
Do not look into 10 Trillion FPS flashbulb with remaining eye.
В «Правде» нет известий, в «Известиях» нет правды
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @02:38AM (2 children)
At what resolution does it get 10 trillion fps?
(Score: 2) by Freeman on Monday October 15 2018, @05:00PM
1x1
Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday October 17 2018, @06:51PM
New year's
(Score: 2) by shortscreen on Monday October 15 2018, @09:21AM
It was mostly Greek to me. Something about translating from the temporal to the spatial domain using shearing. It sounds like this is basically one photo, with some kind of optics setup that causes light arriving later to arrive at a different area of the sensor. So the image contains data from multiple "frames" combined together, then the computer can demultiplex them.
(Score: 2) by Alfred on Monday October 15 2018, @02:07PM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 15 2018, @11:08PM
640k ought to be enough for anybody!