This video demonstrates the capabilities of the Shimadzu HPV-X3, an ultra-high-speed camera capable of capturing events at up to 20 million frames per second (fps). The team, assisted by Matt from Hadland Imaging, conducts a series of ballistics experiments to test the camera's limits, progressing from muzzle exits to bullet impacts on steel and glass. Utilizing a sophisticated, velocity-based triggering system, they achieve microsecond-level precision necessary for the camera's limited 256-frame buffer. Key scientific observations include capturing a hollow-point bullet's cross-section igniting silicon dioxide on glass at 5 million fps, and the discovery of a previously unseen shockwave propagating through a glass sphere at a calculated speed of Mach 40 (45,000 ft/s) at 10 million fps. The final test at a record-breaking 20 million fps captures glass fracturing with no motion blur, reaching a "critical frame rate" where even the fastest physical phenomena appear slowed to a near standstill.
Unlocking New Physics: Filming Ballistics at 20 Million Frames Per Second
0:00 Introduction to the Shimadzu HPV-X3: The video introduces an ultra-high-speed camera capable of 20 million fps, a massive leap from the typical 1 million fps. This camera has a very small 256-frame memory buffer, requiring extremely precise triggering.
2:33 Muzzle Exit at 2 Million FPS: The first experiments capture a firearm's muzzle exit at 1 and 2 million fps, revealing unprecedented detail of the bullet's spin, propellant gas expansion, and the formation of shockwaves.
5:08 Advanced Velocity-Based Triggering: To capture impacts, the team uses a specialized system with two photo gates. This system measures the bullet's exact velocity to calculate the precise moment of impact, allowing it to trigger the camera and strobes within nanoseconds.
7:28 Bullet vs. Steel at 1-2 Million FPS: A .45 caliber bullet impacting a steel plate is filmed at 1 and 2 million fps. The footage is so clear it looks like a physics simulation, showing the bullet's jacket peeling back along the rifling marks as it flattens.
10:31 Subsonic Round Deformation: A large, slow .86 Blackout subsonic round is fired at the steel plate. At 2 million fps, its unique deformation is captured, showing it squashing into a "boat propeller" or "sorting hat" shape while spinning rapidly.
14:25 Shattering Glass at 5 Million FPS: A .308 hollow-point bullet is fired through a pane of glass. At 5 million fps, the footage reveals a circular streak of light as the immense pressure from the bullet's rim instantly ignites the silicon dioxide molecules in the glass.
17:32 The Mach 40 Shockwave Discovery: While filming a bullet impacting a glass sphere at 10 million fps, the team discovers a faint, secondary shockwave propagating just under the surface. They calculate its speed to be an astonishing 45,000 ft/s (Mach 40), an order of magnitude faster than the primary shockwave (the speed of sound in glass).
21:18 Reaching the "Critical Frame Rate" at 20 Million FPS: In the final test, the team successfully films a glass sphere shattering at 20 million fps. At this speed, the crack propagation is perfectly sharp with zero motion blur, demonstrating that they have captured the event so effectively that more frame rate is unnecessary.
23:05 A New Perspective on Time: To put the speed in context, the entire 12.8-microsecond recording from the Shimadzu camera takes place within the duration of just two individual frames from a standard high-speed camera filming at 100,000 fps.
23:56 Future Plans with High Explosives: Having pushed the camera to its limit with ballistics, the team concludes that the next step to fully utilize its 20 million fps capability will be to film even faster events, such as high explosives.