A New World Record in High-Speed Photography
In 2011, MIT presented a camera capable of capturing one trillion frames per second. Three years later, two Japanese universities raised that number to 4.4 trillion. Now it's Lund University's turn with its FRAME camera. This design reaches five trillion frames per second, and it's definitely a world record. The camera extracts multiple images from a single frame by combining algorithms and laser beams, with the goal of studying combustion processes at the femtosecond scale.
Sometimes we make the mistake of trusting our eyes too much, something that becomes evident after looking at one or two optical illusions. But there are things that completely escape us even under normal conditions, and can only be captured with specialized equipment. The Slo Mo Guys on YouTube do an excellent job recording everything with their cameras, but the most modern labs handle very different numbers. Some of the videos made by The Slo Mo Guys were filmed at 120,000 or 340,000 frames per second. The FRAME camera from Lund University does something similar... but at five trillion frames per second.
How FRAME Works
In simple terms, the camera's function is to illuminate the object or reaction to be observed by firing laser flashes more than one trillion times per second, with each pulse assigned a code. This allows multiple images to be obtained from a single frame, and the information is separated with the help of an advanced algorithm, delivering the equivalent of five trillion FPS. The entire process is so fast that the camera can record a pulse of light crossing the thickness of a sheet of paper.
The team responsible for the FRAME camera primarily works on combustion. By obtaining molecular-level information, FRAME could lead to developments like much more efficient engines and gas turbines. Still, we have to wait. A German company has already developed a prototype based on this technology, but it's estimated that at least 24 months will pass before it reaches more laboratories.
