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Watching Metal in Motion

Caption: To time-stamp the arrival of each X-ray pulse, researchers use an electro-optic crystal (green) placed next to the electron beam (white) in the linear accelerator just before the beam produces X-rays in an undulator magnet. The optical properties of the crystal are altered as the electron beam flies by. A laser (red) probes this alteration and measures the exact time the electron beam passed by. This information is then used to chronologically order the X-ray snapshots of the experiment performed a hundred meters away.. This image relates to article that appeared in the Feb. 2, 2007, issue of the journal Science, published by AAAS. The study, by Dr. D.M. Fritz and colleagues of University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, was titled "Ultrafast Bond Softening in Bismuth: Mapping a Solid's Interatomic Potential with X-rays."

Credit: Photo provided by J.C. Castagna, via Science-AAAS.

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