Destructive flash

2007/02/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Biokimika
• Fisika

By pressing on the button of the camera of photos and when obtaining the image, the destruction of the photographed does not seem very adequate. However, sometimes it is really useful. In fact, physicists have managed to know the structure of proteins and other very small objects.

The function of proteins depends on their shape and structure, so it is important to know their structure. For this purpose, the researchers normally use X-rays. First they crystallize proteins and in a matrix they organize many of their copies. The crystal is responsible for diverting the X-rays and through the diffraction model the structure of the protein is known. They currently use the X-rays of particle accelerators called synchrotron to know the structure of thousands of proteins.

But since they cannot crystallize certain proteins, researchers have had to look for another way. In fact, the burst of the X-ray protein allows to obtain more than one billion diffraction than the most powerful symchrotron. The problem is that the diffraction model should be collected immediately before the molecule explodes.

Now Henry Chapman and his team have achieved it with an object greater than a molecule and with wavelength rays greater than X-rays. The rays are emitted by the FLASH laser and have used a specially designed mirror. The mirror directs the X-rays divided into a photodetector. It is a special and complex technique, but very useful in the development of the X-ray laser.