A "revolutionary" camera with an imaging method that breaks the rules of science
The laser is important in the new camera process
A regular camera lens relies on light particles to take pictures of things and objects, but a new invention may enable the camera to shoot without the need for light.
According to the journal "New Scientist", a camera can now take pictures using light that did not touch the objects. This is revolutionary for imaging very fragile tissues and materials.
?How does a regular camera work
Conventional cameras capture light that bounces off objects to create images.
Thus, dimly lit objects that only come into contact with a few light particles do not show up clearly in the photos.
?Who invented the new camera
Chinese student Xiao Song Ma at Nanjing University in China , and his colleagues, have now built a device that can take advantage of non-contact light.
New Quantum Camera Components
The new innovation is a maze of lenses, mirrors and crystals, arranged on a table so that light is produced at one end and detected at the other.
They tested it on a small plate embossed with three letters placed between two mirrors. Instead of using natural light or a camera flash, the researchers hit one of the device's crystals with a laser beam, causing it to emit particles of light.
These particles traveled through the "maze" but never touched the body.
Thanks to quirks of quantum physics, the light hit a detector that records those properties, and then a computer used them to generate the final image of the plate.
Quantum physics
"Quantum physics often doesn't motivate our daily lives, but in this case it helps us go beyond conventional imaging," says Ma.
The new method may be useful for studying things like fragile living cells that change structure when exposed to light, he says.
Source : websites