If you are like most people, the only time you have looked through a microscope was in school when you analyzed a drop of water to see the tiny lifeforms swimming about. While those types of microscope are certainly important, they are not nearly powerful enough to see things down to the subatomic level.

Researchers at the University of Arizona have just published a paper about a new microscope they developed that is powerful enough to see an electron in motion and is able to take a clear image of it thanks to its incredibly fast speeds.

It is the fastest microscope in the world.

This incredible microscope is able to snap an image of subatomic particles in a single attosecond. That is one quintillionth of a second.

Mohammed Hassan, the associate professor of physics and optical sciences at the University of Arizona and co-author of the paper released a statement, saying:

“For the first time, we are able to attain attosecond temporal resolution with our electron transmission microscope — and we coined it ‘attomicroscopy.’ We can see pieces of the electron in motion.”

Having the ability to get a clear image of things at this level opens up many new opportunities for researchers. For example, physicists could get a look at what happens at the subatomic level when an atoms are fused together or broken apart. Scientists in other fields will also undoubtedly be able to learn many things from this new tool.

Hassan commented on this, saying:

“With this microscope, we hope the scientific community can understand the quantum physics behind how an electron behaves and how an electron moves.”

The way the microscope works is quite complicated, but it involves splitting a laser into an electron pulse and two light pulses. The electron pulse is what captures the image, with the light pulses getting the electrons moving and priming the electron pulse to have it engaged at the precise moment needed.

It is an incredible feat of technology that will let scientists view our world in a way never before possible.

Imagine what images will be seen from the subatomic level.

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