Synchrotron radiation microdiffraction of ballistic molten wax microdrops.
Using stroboscopic techniques, diffraction patterns of ballistic paraffin wax microdrops have been observed. The microdrops, generated by a high-temperature ink-jet system, travel through the 1 mum synchrotron radiation beam with a speed of about 1.4 m/s. Diffraction patterns were recorded in flight by a charge couple device with a microchannel plate image intensifier stage, which was activated with the microdrop generation frequency of 1000 Hz during 2 mus. The data show liquid microdrops with a constant temperature up to 8 mm from the ink-jet system capillary exit. The general technique could be adapted for studying fast structural processes, such as protein conformational changes in aqueous microdrops.
Graceffa
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European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 6 rue Jules Horowitz, BP 220, 38043 Grenoble Cedex, France.
Burghammer
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Davies
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Riekel
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