Femto Photography: Capturing the Unseen World

In summary, the conversation is about a new imaging technology that uses femtosecond lasers and streak cameras to capture propagating light pulses. While this technology has been around for decades, the ability to reconstruct photon-sparse images through computational power is what makes this approach significant. This method has potential for applications in microscopy and can create interesting effects in capturing motion in a single image. However, it is not expected to be commercially available anytime soon.
  • #1
jobyts
227
64
Posting here, I think someone here would be interested in this:
 
Physics news on Phys.org
  • #3
It's interesting, to be sure- but it's not going to be commercially available anytime soon. Here's a link to the Nature paper, it has a diagram of their imaging system in Figure 1:

http://www.nature.com/articles/ncom...yUQNOf8pUJi5&tracking_referrer=www.nature.com

The actual hardware technology is nothing new- femtosecond lasers and streak cameras have been around for decades- people have been imaging propagating light pulses since the 1970s:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20111288

What is significantly new is the computational power to reconstruct photon-sparse image sets; similar approaches are used in microscopy (STORM is the most common form, https://www.microscopyu.com/articles/superresolution/stormintro.html).

More broadly, the ways motion (time-varying position) can be represented in a single image lead to interesting effects:

http://people.rit.edu/andpph/text-streak-strip-scanning-imaging-overview.html
http://www.sportsshooter.com/news/2043

And I can't the link, but there's a photographer who creates images of people jumping/moving through a pulsed light sheet- really cool stuff.
 
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Likes DrClaude and Greg Bernhardt
  • #4
Amazing stuff with huge potential although certainly Andy has it right that this is not something we'll see commercially available any time soon.
 

1. What is Femto Photography and how does it work?

Femto Photography is a technique that uses ultrafast laser pulses to capture images of extremely fast events, such as the movement of light or particles. It works by emitting a short burst of laser light that lasts only a femtosecond (one quadrillionth of a second), which is then recorded by a high-speed camera. By capturing multiple images at different points in time and combining them, femto photography can create a slow-motion video of these incredibly fast events.

2. How is Femto Photography different from high-speed photography?

High-speed photography typically uses cameras with fast shutter speeds to capture images of fast-moving objects. However, these cameras are limited by the speed of light and cannot capture events that occur faster than a few nanoseconds. Femto Photography, on the other hand, uses ultrafast laser pulses that can capture events as short as a femtosecond, allowing us to see things that were previously unseen by traditional high-speed photography.

3. What are the applications of Femto Photography?

Femto Photography has a wide range of applications in various fields such as physics, chemistry, biology, and engineering. It can be used to study the movement of light, chemical reactions, and biological processes at an extremely high speed. It has also been used to capture images of previously unseen phenomena such as shock waves, plasma dynamics, and even the movement of electrons in atoms. This technology has the potential to greatly advance our understanding of the world around us.

4. What are the challenges in using Femto Photography?

Femto Photography requires highly specialized equipment and expertise to operate. The ultrafast laser pulses used in this technique are expensive and can be difficult to maintain. The timing and synchronization of the laser and camera must also be precise, and any vibrations or air movements can affect the quality of the images. Additionally, the interpretation of the images captured by femto photography can be complex and requires advanced data analysis techniques.

5. How can Femto Photography benefit society?

Femto Photography has the potential to revolutionize our understanding of the natural world and lead to advancements in various fields such as medicine, materials science, and technology. By capturing previously unseen events and processes, we can gain a deeper understanding of how the world works and potentially develop new technologies and treatments. For example, femto photography has been used to study the dynamics of viruses and could aid in the development of new treatments or vaccines. It also has the potential to improve the design and performance of materials and devices by allowing us to see how they behave at a molecular level.

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