In class we talked about a new way of capturing the environment around us. It was referred to as Femto-Photography. Femto-Photography uses a special type of camera with a shutter speed so fast that it is able to capture light moving. This camera was demonstrated by having it film a laser pointer shooting a laser through a coke bottle that was filled with water. The camera was able to capture video of the beam of light starting at one end of the bottle, then hitting the cap and scattering about in all directions. The video can be found here.
In the TED Talk that we watch in class, the presenter went on to talk about all of the things that this new technology can bring to the world. For example, he said that cameras like this will allow us to see things that around a corner. He then demonstrated it using a mannequin that was sitting on the other side of a wall from the camera, and using the camera a computer was able to create and image of the mannequin on the other side. He then went on to say that this may be able to be use in medicine as well. It would be another step forward from MRIs for medical imaging technology.
All the talk about what this could mean for the future really got me thinking during class. I thought about how this might change the world, and what other uses we might have for a camera as powerful as this. Will we ever use it in filmmaking? If so what would we use it for, and how would it revolutionize it? One of the things that I thought about a lot was whether or not this could be a step towards traveling at the speed of light. I know that the idea seems a little far fetched, but my thought process was that if we can make a camera that can capture footage of light moving from point A to point B, then maybe someday it would be possible for us to find a way to be able to move along side it.
Ryan Stuart 