[vodpod id=Video.15813716&w=425&h=350&fv=%26rel%3D0%26border%3D0%26] This is absolutely jaw dropping! A couple of researchers over at that little school, what’s it called, oh yeah MIT, developed a camera that literally captures images at the speed of light. Now, you might be saying, “don’t all cameras work at the speed of light?”. And I’m going to go ahead and tell you, no, they don’t. In recent years there have been some serious advances in the frame rate capabilities of cameras. This has produced some stunning slow-motion effects that, from the normal perspective of the human eye, seem to freeze motion perfectly (see Phantom video).
Now imagine that instead of being able to observe water emerging from the tap you can actually document the journey of photons of light as they are emitted from the lamp on your nightstand. This new camera is so fast it can capture light as it spreads across the room. Sure, in the video, the researchers discuss the practical medical applications of the technology. But imagine this in the realm of the least practical field known to man, art. This camera combined with the frivolous imaginings of an artist could really shed some light, excuse the pun, on what our sluggish human optical systems observe as mundane events.