High-speed photography is generally concerned with exposure times shorter than about 1/1,000 second (one millisecond) and often exposures shorter than 1/1,000,000 second (one microsecond). This field partly overlaps that of high-speed cinematography—sequences of very short exposures. Exposure times can be reduced by high-speed shutter systems or by short-duration flash sources. High-speed photography, together with high-speed cinematography, aids in the study of missiles, explosions, nuclear reactions, and other phenomena of military and scientific interest. In industry high-speed pictures show up movement phases of machinery, relays, and switches; dynamic fractures of materials or insulation breakdown; and, in natural science studies, ...(100 of 19384 words)