This New Camera Can Capture Shockwaves And Transparent Objects

A year later after his success with the fastest camera in the world that can take 10 trillion images in just a second, meaning it can capture light as it travels, Lihong Wang has taken another step and perfected the technology.

The new tech is called pCUP (stands for phase-sensitive compressed ultrafast photography). It allows cameras to capture not only transparent objects but also ephemeral things including neuron signals and shockwaves.

Wang is currently a professor at the Medical Engineering and Electrical Engineering in California. He said that the tech is made by combining the method he invented a year ago with an age-old technology called phase-contrast microscopy, which allows us to capture images of transparent objects, like cells.

Phase-contrast microscopy makes use of the phenomena when light speeds up or slows down when it enters distinct materials. The speed changes also lead to wave timing alteration.

For example, when light travels through glass, its speed reduces and when it exits, it picks up speed again. Scientists can make use of optical tricks to tell light that has passed through glass and those that did not, making them a lot easier to see.

Wang said that the team adapted the standard phase-contrast microscopy to achieve ultra-fast imaging, allowing them to take photos of transparent materials.

He also shared that while the tech is still at its infancy, once perfected, could be handy in biology, physics, chemistry, and other fields.

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