The scientific question of the month demystifies complex topics with simple, effective answers
The cameras built into our smartphones can capture up to 240 images per second, but some ultrafast cameras can capture billions! Impressive, but how and why are they used?
Seeing the invisible
Ultrafast cameras are sophisticated, extremely precise devices used by scientists in research laboratories. There are a number of different types of cameras, and they use different methods, but they all share the same goal: to capture or share moving phenomena that can’t be seen with the naked eye because they’re nearly instantaneous.
Why take so many pictures?
The number of images you capture in a given time frame is called the frame rate. And the higher the frame rate, the easier it is to capture—and therefore observe—phenomena in slow motion. You can think of it as a series of billions of freeze-frames.
What phenomena can
these cameras capture?
Among others, these cameras can capture biomechanical and chemical interactions inside cells, as well as combustion reactions, photoelectric reactions in laser pulses, and electromagnetic reactions inside materials.
But why?
So we can unlock the secrets of the infinitely small! Whether they’re used in physics, chemistry, biology, or materials science, these ultrafast cameras will help improve telecommunication and security systems, develop better treatments for diseases, respond better to climate change, and optimize the materials used in engineering.
Can we go any faster?
Scientists are always looking for ways to push the limits of ultrafast imaging. At INRS, several teams are working on this. In fact, one of those teams recently succeeded in developing a camera that can capture 156.3 trillion images per second—a record! And the researchers who specialize in these cameras are exploring not only speed, but quality: they want the cameras to deliver images that are more and more precise while becoming smaller and easier to use. So clearly the field is in full swing.
