Ultrasmall atom motions recorded with ultrashort x-ray pulses
(PHYSorg.com Physics)

Periodic motions of atoms over a length of a billionth of a millionth of a meter (10-15 m) are mapped by ultrashort x-ray pulses. In a novel type of experiment, regularly arranged atoms in a crystal are set into vibration by a laser pulse and a sequence of snapshots is generated via changes of x-ray absorption.