AI Insight
Columbia University chemist Milan Delor has developed an advanced microscope called stroboSCAT that can observe individual quantum particles and quasiparticles in motion as they transport energy through materials. The instrument uses strobe-like light pulses to capture real-time movement of both electrons and quasiparticles, which are quantum-level phenomena arising from particle interactions. This technology enables direct visualization of energy flow at the quantum scale through different material systems.
Why it matters
Understanding how energy moves at the quantum level through materials could advance the development of more efficient electronics, solar cells, and quantum computing components. The ability to watch individual particle dynamics in real-time provides researchers with unprecedented insight into energy transport mechanisms that underpin modern technology.
Understand the Science
Energy can be carried in a number of ways: by electrons, the particles that underpin all modern electronics, as well as by quasiparticles, the results of different particles interacting with one another at the quantum level. Columbia chemist Milan Delor has been watching these different forms of energy flow with an instrument called stroboSCAT, a unique microscope that uses strobe-like light pulses to capture particles and quasiparticles as they move through different materials.
Source: Upgraded microscope can now watch individual quantum particles in motion