The University of Chicago has combined small angle and wide angle x-rays with a laser to watch quick reactions in protein. The different types of rays show both the overall shape (small angle) and more detailed information (wide angle) of the molecule. Just how quick of reactions does this machine track? The rays began hitting at 10 picoseconds (A picosecond is a trillionth of a second.) to 10 milliseconds afterward. They were able to get info such as the fact that the molecule suddenly expanded and went back to its original shape in 10 nanoseconds (A nanosecond is a billionth of a second.) You can read more about the machine here.
This machine doesn’t seem like it will make a huge impact. It is basically an upgrade on a previous laser. While it will be able to help us see reactions that happen in a shorter amount of time, and will help reveal more information about chemical reactions, it doesn’t seem like it will be much more then revealing more information about the world. It doesn’t seem like the information is going to be life changing, however.
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