Ultrafast optical fiber-based electron gun to reveal atomic motions

phys.org ^ | October 9, 2018, | American Institute of Physics

[BenLurkin]

[R]esearchers at the Max Planck Institute for the Structure and Dynamics of Matter are reporting "ultrabright" electron sources with sufficient brightness to literally light up atomic motions in real time—at a time scale of 100 femtoseconds, making these sources particularly relevant to chemistry because atomic motions occur in that window of time.

After seeing the first atomic movies of phase transitions in bulk thin films using high-energy (100 kilovolt) electron bunches, the researchers wondered if they could achieve atomic resolution of surface reactions—occurring within the first few monolayers of materials—to gain a better understanding of surface catalysis.

So they devised a low-energy (1-2 kilovolt) time-resolved electron diffraction concept of using fiber optics for miniaturization and the ability to stretch the electron pulse, then apply streak camera technology to potentially obtain subpicosecond temporal resolution—a difficult feat within the low-electron energy regime.

Of the myriad possible nuclear configurations, the group discovered that the system collapses to just a few key modes that direct chemistry and that a reduction in dimensionality that occurs in the transition state or barrier-crossing region can be inferred. "We see it directly with the first atomic movies of ring closing, electron transfer and bond breaking," said Miller.

[adorno]

Which reminds me of the question of time being quantized or not.

Time is what gave the universe "volume". Without time, there would be nothing, other than the singular original "god particle" with nothing to do other than "just be there with no purpose". Time is the piece of the puzzle that enabled the immense universe. The original "god particle"? That's were God comes in; and God sparked the universe into expansion through the "creation" of time.