Capturing Femtosecond Snapshots of Molecular Processes

umarkalim writes "Staff Scientist Apurva Mehta says, 'For 40 years at Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, we have been taking very high-resolution photographs-photographs of atoms in molecules and crystals and of electronic structures. But now we want to make movies.' He and his colleagues are developing a new 'pump-probe' facility that promises to expand SSRL's capabilities and complement those of SLAC's X-ray laser, the Linac Coherent Light Source."

Comments

Re:Differences from Zewail's Lab?

[hey!]

Still photos, but of shorter wavelength. Shorter wavelength == finer resolution.

Imagine you are blindfolded and are trying to determine the shape of some three dimensional object that you can't touch. You'd get a finer picture of the thing if you probed it with the tip of a pencil than if you felt it through a boxing glove.