A British student won a prize for taking a picture of a single atom with an everyday camera and tripod.
The atom was held between two tiny needle tips that were spaced nearly two millimeters apart, but David Nadlinger managed to grab it. (David Nadlinger, Oxford University)
David Nadlinger, a University of Oxford student, captured the long exposure image via the window of an ultra-high vacuum chamber.
The majority of the camera technology employed by Mr. Nadlinger was basic, except for utilizing a lens attachment to extend the focal length of an existing lens.
However, there was a lot more work involved in the scientific method of photographing the atom.
A blue-violet laser was used to spotlight a single positively charged strontium atom that was kept almost immobile by electric fields. This caused the atom to absorb and re-emit light quickly enough for a regular camera to take a long exposure picture of it.
The atom was held between two needle tips that were around two millimeters apart, yet Mr. Nadlinger was able to zoom in close enough to photograph it.
The resultant photo, titled Single Atom in an Ion Trap, won first place in the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council’s national science photography competition in the Equipment and Facilities category.