World's best metronome enables slow-motion pictures of atoms and molecules
Tuesday, January 17, 2012 - 04:30
in Physics & Chemistry
(PhysOrg.com) -- The world's most accurate metronome keeps stroke to an incredible 10 quintillionth of a second. The device enables slow-motion pictures from the world of molecules and atoms, scientists from the Center for Free-Electron Laser Science (CFEL) in Hamburg, Germany, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) report. The metronome, an ultrashort pulse laser, acting as an optical flywheel, is currently the most precise clock generator on short time scales, writes the research team headed by DESY scientist Prof. Franz X. Kärtner in the journal Nature Photonics. CFEL is a joint venture of DESY, the German Max Planck Society and the University of Hamburg.