Description

Schlieren photograph of a bullet passing through the heat above a candle flame, taken by Edgerton and his assistant Kim Vandiver. The sound from the rifle triggered a microphone that fired the microsecond flash. The optical field that allows the differences in air density to be visible to the camera is created by a careful alignment of large concave mirrors and apertures. Different filters allow the range of colors to be varied. See also HEE-(from "Stopping TIme" (1987), p. 138-9.) (CC)