SLAC's high-speed 'electron camera' films atomic nuclei in vibrating molecules

An ultrafast "electron camera" at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has made the first direct snapshots of atomic nuclei in molecules that are vibrating within millionths of a billionth of a second after being hit by a laser pulse. The method, called ultrafast electron diffraction (UED), could help scientists better understand the role of nuclear motions in light-driven processes that naturally occur on extremely fast timescales.