Rapatronic Photographs

[engstrom]

This might not be the right forum to post this in, but it really didn't fit well anywhere. Any mods can feel free to move it if they think there is a more appropriate forum.

In the early days of the US nuclear program scientists wanted a way to get pictures of the fireball formed by an atom bomb very shortly after it was detonated. All cameras in existence up until that point could only provide an overexposed blurry picture. In steps Professor Harold Edgerton.

http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=456

Now, the pictures produced from this camera...well, they are some of the most beautiful pictures I've seen. Really freaky but really fascinating too. To see more of the pictures go here: http://simplethinking.com/home/rapat...hotographs.htm

[xseption]

pretty damn interesting ... I wonder if they could make the light polarizer shutter for the handheld models

[AndrewC]

Originally Posted by xseption

pretty damn interesting ... I wonder if they could make the light polarizer shutter for the handheld models

The shutter isn't the problem - it's the >10,000 volts you need to get the nitrobenzene to change state quickly ! You know how LCD displays always seem to change slowly - that's because of the low field strength used to change the polarization. In a Kerr shutter you basically give it an enormous wack and it changes pdq.

[engstrom]

Originally Posted by AndrewC

The shutter isn't the problem - it's the >10,000 volts you need to get the nitrobenzene to change state quickly ! You know how LCD displays always seem to change slowly - that's because of the low field strength used to change the polarization. In a Kerr shutter you basically give it an enormous wack and it changes pdq.

I was wondering how many volts were needed to change the polarization of the Kerr cell. Do you have any idea of how much current is needed for it?

[AndrewC]

It's not that much current, just a very high voltage short duration pulse.