Scientists create world's fastest microscope capable of capturing electrons in motion

Researchers have created the world's fastest microscope, which is believed to lead to discoveries in physics, chemistry, engineering, and more.

Scientists create world's fastest microscope capable of capturing electrons in motion
Comment IconFacebook IconX IconReddit Icon
Junior Editor
Published
1 minute & 30 seconds read time

A team of researchers from the University of Arizona have penned a new study detailing the creation of a microscope capable of capturing the speed of a electron.

Scientists create world's fastest microscope capable of capturing electrons in motion 633632

The new research has been published in the Science Advances journal and details the creation of an attosecond electron microscope, or a microscope that instead of using typical camera sensors that capture visible light use direct beams of electrons that pass through whatever the target object is. Researchers transmit these electrons in pulses and the faster a pulse moves through an object, the greater the resolution. Additionally, camera sensors capture the interaction between the electrons and the target sample.

All of the aforementioned data is used to create the end result images. However, ultrafast electron microscopes work by releasing a train of electrons in at a few attoseconds, which is one quintillionth of a second. It's best to think of each of these electron pulses as frames per second (FPS) in a movie or a video game. Until now, researchers were unable to capture the reaction of the electron when passing through the sample when its between each of the FPS, which restricted the total possible resolution.

However, the team of researchers at the University of Arizona created a single attsecond electron pulse that moves at the same speed as an electron, which essentially syncs the microscope with the speed of an electron, which increases the total resolution of the microscope and parts of the electron that was previously unseen.

"The improvement of the temporal resolution inside of electron microscopes has been long anticipated and the focus of many research groups-because we all want to see the electron motion," Hassan said. "These movements happen in attoseconds. But now, for the first time, we are able to attain attosecond temporal resolution with our electron transmission microscope-and we coined it 'attomicroscopy.' For the first time, we can see pieces of the electron in motion."

Photo of the $10 -PlayStation Store Gift Card [Digital Code]
Best Deals: $10 -PlayStation Store Gift Card [Digital Code]
Country flag Today 7 days ago 30 days ago
$10 USD $10 USD
Buy
Loading... Loading...
Buy
* Prices last scanned on 11/1/2024 at 7:13 pm CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission from any sales.
NEWS SOURCES:phys.org, science.org

Junior Editor

Email IconX IconLinkedIn Icon

Jak joined the TweakTown team in 2017 and has since reviewed 100s of new tech products and kept us informed daily on the latest science, space, and artificial intelligence news. Jak's love for science, space, and technology, and, more specifically, PC gaming, began at 10 years old. It was the day his dad showed him how to play Age of Empires on an old Compaq PC. Ever since that day, Jak fell in love with games and the progression of the technology industry in all its forms.

Newsletter Subscription

Join the daily TweakTown Newsletter for a special insider look into new content and what is happening behind the scenes.

Related Topics

Newsletter Subscription