New Neutron Camera has a Shutter Speed of One Trillionth of a Second [Video]

Researchers have created a new camera that features a shutter speed so fast, it can see atomic structures without blur.

The researchers, who are from Columbia Engineering and Université de Bourgogne, have developed a new kind of “camera” that sees atomic clusters. Called “local disorder,” these dynamic atomic clusters are usually blurry when captured with cameras that have a slower shutter speed, but using this new “neutron” camera, they become clear.

According to Phys, the research is helping scientists understand the materials that are best for sustainable energy applications — like those that convert sunlight or waste heat to electricity — as they often use collective fluctuations of clusters of atoms within a larger structure (that’s what is referred to as dynamic disorder). If scientists are better able to understand dynamic disorder, they could pinpoint materials that would be more energy efficient in thermoelectric devices.

That’s where the neutron camera comes in, …