Optical Levitodynamics
A tightly focused laser beam from a microscope objective is used to levitate a single nanoparticle in vacuum and detect its dynamics. The electric field from two electrodes allows to accurately measure the mass of the particle to the sub-femtogram scale (the mass of a small virus) and its charge down to the single electron level, making the system an ultra sensitive force nano-sensor.” [Third place winner (tie), 2018 After Image photo contest.]
—Francesco F. Ricci, ICFO-Institute of Photonics Sciences, Barcelona