The universe is made up of millions of things, some of them too big and others too small, so tiny that we are unable to see them with the naked eye. The human being has always needed a powerful instrument, such as large telescopes or electron microscopes to transform these objects so unattainable, into objects that we can really understand and even see. This is the reason why this photograph of an atom alone has been awarded.
If you look closely at the photograph of an atom ...
Attention to the image:
When you approach the photograph of an atom only of David Nadlinger , you can see a single strontium atom positively charged (or strontium ion, as it is also called) suspended in electric fields that radiate from the metal electrodes around it. This photograph of an atom was taken on August 7, 2017 with a Canon 5D Mark II camera, an EF 50mm f / 1.8 lens and an exposure time of 30 seconds. Surprising! It almost seems impossible that the bright spot in the center of the photo is an atom trapped between two metal electrodes 2.3 mm apart.
We will get an idea of how small this image is if we understand that the distance between the two points is approximately 2mm, or what is the same, the width of a spaghetti.
These ions react to a correct ultra-violet laser illumination and what they do is absorb the light particles and emit them back. With this observation, David Nadlinger realized that if his camera had the correct configuration, that is, with a sufficiently long exposure, he would be able to photograph that magical moment and thus convert the fleeting emission of light into a digital image. To achieve such a thing, he placed the tripod so that the lens looked through the window of the ultra high vacuum chamber where the ion trap is located, which in turn suspends the atom, and fired.
"The idea of being able to see a single atom with the naked eye struck me as a wonderfully direct and visceral bridge between the tiny quantum world and our macroscopic reality"
he said in a press release. "A calculation on the back of the envelope showed that the numbers were on my side, and when I left for the lab with camera and tripods on a quiet Sunday afternoon, I was rewarded with this particular image of a small pale blue dot"
The first prize for Nadlinger
On February 12, 2018 in the United Kingdom, the Research Council of Engineering and Physical Sciences (EPSRC), organized the fifth annual scientific photography contest and David Nadlinger won the general prize. The acronym EPSRC corresponds to the main funding agency for research in engineering and physical sciences in the United Kingdom. Among all the images that participated in the contest, some impressive ones were seen.
"Every year we are amazed by the quality and creativity of the entries in our contest and this year has not been an exception," said Professor Tom Rodden, Deputy Executive Director of EPSRC. "They show that our researchers want to tell the world about the beauty of science and engineering."
The contest rewarded other images; among them, close-ups of soap bubbles in a kitchen sink and a small bubble containing a medication.
"Not only do we have powerful and attractive photos , but the stories behind those photos about how and why they were made are very inspiring, "said Dame Ann Dowiling, member of the jury.
And Nadlinger who thinks?
David Nadlinger has written a post on his blog about what this award has meant to him, and reveals many more secrets about his photography of an atom; Is this an advance in science? Have you photographed individual atoms before? Your answers are: NO to the first question and YES to the second.
"First, the techniques that made this image possible, ion traps and laser cooling, are part of the standard toolbox in modern physics experiments. The photo could have been taken in dozens, if not hundreds, of laboratories around the world, with one of more than ten different species of atoms. To be very clear, the image won a photography contest, not a science prize. "
What do you think about our article about David Nadlinger's award-winning photograph of an atom? If you are one of those people who are fascinated by any scientific advance, we are sure that you will have been impressed by this researcher's ability to show us an image that we could only see through powerful microscopes.