Martin Centurion Explains Unprecedented Imaging Resolutions

Photo Credit: Ultrafast electron diffraction image of CS2 molecule, similar to that of the molecule's ground state.
Mon, 10/05/2015 - 15:16
In an article for the International Society for Optics and Photonics (SPIE), Assistant Professor Martin Centurion discusses ultrafast electron diffraction and femtosecond laser pulses that are leading his research group into unprecedented areas of imaging resolutions. The article is titled "Sub-picosecond imaging of short-lived molecular structures."

SPIE is a not-for-profit society focused on advancing an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light. The society also plays a key role in the International Year of Light 2015.

"When a photon is absorbed by a molecule, the energy of the photon is converted to chemical and mechanical energy, in the form of nuclear motion. As a result, the structure of the molecule changes. In many photochemical reactions, the timescale for such nuclear motion is on the order of a few hundred femtoseconds."

To read more, see the article, "Sub-picosecond imaging of short-lived molecular structures."