DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Photo of a single trapped atom wins Science Photography Competition

Feb 14, 2018 by Dunja Djudjic 1 Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Here’s something you don’t see every day – a single isolated atom, captured in a photo. This is the photo that Science Photography Competition, organized by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

“Single Atom in an Ion Trap” is a photo by David Nadlinger from the University of Oxford. We bring you the winning image, along with some details. But also, take a look at a few other amazing photos from the contest.

The competition has five categories:

  1. Eureka & Discovery
  2. Equipment & Facilities
  3. People & Skills
  4. Innovation
  5. Weird & Wonderful

EPSRC explains that the atom in the winning photo is held by the fields emanating from the metal electrodes around it. The distance between the small needle tips is about two millimeters. The atom is illuminated by a laser of the right blue-violet color. It absorbs and re-emits light particles quickly enough for an ordinary camera to capture it in a long exposure photo. Here is a cropped version if you find it difficult to see:

David Nadlinger briefly explains how he took the photo:

The idea of being able to see a single atom with the naked eye had struck me as a wonderfully direct and visceral bridge between the miniscule quantum world and our macroscopic reality. A back-of-the-envelope calculation showed the numbers to be on my side, and when I set off to the lab with camera and tripods one quiet Sunday afternoon, I was rewarded with this particular picture of a small, pale blue dot.

As for the gear, “Single Atom in an Ion Trap” was taken with Canon 5D Mk II, Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 with extension tubes, and two flash units with color gels.

I have chosen a few more photos from the Science Photography Competition. You can learn more and check out the complete gallery on EPSRC’s website.

© Mr Li Shen – Imperial College London: In a kitchen far far away…
1st place Eureka and Discovery

© Mr Tayo Sanders II – University of Oxford: Biodegradable microbowls could help fight stubbon cancers
2nd place Eureka and Discovery

©Dr Andrew Capel – Loughborough University: An in vitro 3D tissue engineered model of neuromuscular junction formation
3rd place Eureka and Discovery

© Miss Estelle Beguin – University of Oxford: Microbubble for drug delivery
1st place Innovation

© Dr Mahetab Amer – University of Nottingham: High throughput screening in search for serendipity
2nd place Innovation

© Mr Sam Catchpole-Smith – University of Nottingham: Building blocks for a lighter future
3rd place Innovation

© Mr Luke Cramphorn – University of Bristol: Robo Selfie 2 of 2
3rd Place People and Skills

Lead image: © David Nadlinger – University of Oxford: Single Atom in Ion Trap – 1st Place Equipment and Facilities and Overall competition winner

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Adorable leafy sea dragon wins Australian Geographic nature photography competition Poorly Photoshopped image wins Nikon photo competition, promptly turns into meme Powerful portrait of a twin with his brother’s ashes wins Portrait Masters competition How To Edit A Woman Trapped In Ice Portrait

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: photography competition, photography contest, psychological science, Science, Science Imaging

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.net

About Dunja Djudjic

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

« Winning photos of 2018 Underwater Photographer of the Year are out of this world
Skydio R1 is a 4K self-flying drone with 12 cameras that will follow you anywhere »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy