High-speed photography requires exposure times shorter than those given by standard shutters, and at picture frequencies faster than those given by motion picture cameras with intermittent film movement. This makes high-speed flash photography of great value in scientific and technological studies. These photographs allow us to see the phases of movement that occur in nature when a bird flies or a cheetah runs, as well as the movements of high-speed machinery and phenomena like explosions, which normally occur with such great speed that details are not discernable to the naked eye.

The very fastest mechanical shutters give exposure times of about 1/4000th of a second. High-speed photography can require exposure times shorter than 1/1,000,000th of a second. Such extremely short exposure times are achieved with the help of magneto-optical shutters. As opposed to a mechanical shutter, which uses a physical trigger to open the...