Astronomy talk: "Femtosecond Electron Diffraction: Making Atomic and Molecular Movies!" New

Making Atomic and Molecular Movies!

Our public talks at South African Astronomical Observatory commence with "Femtosecond Electron Diffraction: Making Atomic and Molecular Movies!" presented by Dr. Nicolas Erasmus on Saturday, January 9 at 20h00. After the talk we shall have tours of the site and stargazing, if the weather allows it.

Summary of the talk

Exotic matter like superconductors or phase-change materials have fascinated us for decades and have the potential for exciting new technologies. Trying to explain these unusual macroscopic properties of materials from a microscopic perspective has been the challenge for many physicists, past and present. 

In the past two decades several technological advancements have resulted in new scientific techniques that now enable us to investigate material on the atomic level in both the spatial and temporal realm. Femtosecond Electron Diffraction (FED) is one of these techniques.

Dr. Nicolas Erasmus will mainly focus on how femtosecond lasers are used to temporally resolve atomic motion on the sub-picosecond time-scale and how this reveals valuable clues to why these exotic phenomena exist. Additionally, he will also show results from their most recent experiments on phase-change materials demonstrating the investigating power of FED.