A research team led by Professor Dr. Christian Spielmann from Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany), and professor at the Institute of Optics and Quantum Electronics have developed techniques to produce ultra-short x-ray pulses in the lab, which will help observe the movement of atoms.
A measurement apparatus needs to deliver enough high temporal and spatial resolution. In order to take pictures at this scale without blurring, it is essential to have exposure times in femtoseconds: These are short spells of time. The applied radiation needs to possess a short wavelength to enter the microcosm of the structure of the matter to be able to capture the motion of single atoms.
If the intense ultra-short laser pulse in the spectrum part that is visible to the naked eye is beamed into a gas jet, its wavelength moves in the direction of shorter wavelengths. Professor Spielmann will receive an award for his research work with the Thuringian Research Award 2010 for ‘basic research’ on April 1.
Source: http://www.uni-jena.de/