Technical diagram (right) shows how the shadow (left) was captured (Image source: Reproduction / Griffith University)

Calmly, the image above is not one of those wallpapers that accompanied operating systems of past decades. In fact behind it is an incredible feat: researchers at the Center for Quantum Dynamics at Griffith University in Australia have captured the shadow image of an atom.

According to co-author of the Nature article, David Kielpinski, the shadow shown in the image reveals exactly the predicted behavior of an atom. For imaging, the researchers had to trap the ytterbium atom inside a vacuum camera, held by magnetic fields. Then the atom was exposed to a specific frequency of light that allowed the image to be captured by a very high resolution microscope.

According to Kielpinski, if the light frequency were changed by one billionth of a power, photography could no longer be performed. With these experiments, science benefits from knowledge that can be applied to quantum computing and, especially, to microscopy techniques focused on biology, activity in which excess light ends up damaging biological samples, such as cells and DNA.

Source: Cosmo Magazine